Rating: NNN
Legendary ambient pioneer Brian Eno bases his newest album on the idea of film soundtracks, which makes perfect sense given his history as a musician. The tracks here aren’t so much songs as landscapes, meant to evoke imagery rather than narrative. However, despite all his attempts to avoid traditional songwriting techniques and structures, there are a surprising number of actual melodies on Small Craft On A Milk Sea.
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This is both good and bad. Some of the better moments come when the non-musical textures and drones dominate, even when the tiny glimpses of melody complete them. On the flip side, the more overtly harmonic pieces sometimes falter uncomfortably into generic film soundtrack territory or, worse, New Age. The real triumphs come when beats make unexpected appearances, bringing to mind the left-field electronic music that his new label, Warp, was once revered for. Makes you wonder what Eno would come up with if he ventured into techno.
Top track: 2 Forms Of Anger
