Brian Eno – Another Day On Earth (2005)

Last of the recent Harborough Market haul (£20 for the last seven CDs reviewed, which I didn't think was too shabby!) is this 2005 Brian Eno release.

We can go back to the older stuff on the shelves after this (except I did visit a charity shop yesterday...)

This feels like a return to the 1970s for Eno, in the sense that it's a mixture of eleven songs / instrumentals, rather than much longer pieces which he's arguably become better known for, and it's a very easy listen, with calm being the main sense of the album.

This, the opening track, typifies the "70s Eno with a 21st century beat" vibe, followed by And Then So Clear, the song which inspired the whole album, a gently lovely song, where Eno uses a "gender changing function" unit giving the vocals a higher pitched vocoder sound. A Long Way Down is a subtle instrumental, while Going Unconscious has a ringing drone, similar to Wire's 1997 single Vien, although it ends far more calmly than that post punk classic. It's followed by Caught Between, a pleasant forgettable song, and Passing Over, a sinister instrumental piece with a sung/spoken central section.

How Many Worlds is a simple song with a honky-tonk piano accompaniment (which, of course gets more elaborate), but it's a real grower, as is the haunting and lovely Bottomliners. Just Another Day continues this mood, another fine song, but Under just doesn't do it for me, feeling ordinary and over produced by comparison. However, there's one hell of an ending in Bone Bomb (referring to the shrapnel like nature of bone from a suicide bomber), musically subtle, hauntingly spoken by Aylie Cooke, leaving a chill down the back of the neck.

This is an excellent album from Eno, varied while maintaining a calm throughout, and a superb listen. Highly recommended.

Link to whole album

4* - Eno shows that thirty years into his career, he still makes beautiful and interesting music.