Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Business Post OCTOBER 13, 2022 - by Tony Clayton-Lea

BRIAN ENO LENDS HIS VOICE TO THE CALLS FOR CLIMATE ACTION

The musician and producer returns to vocal-based work for the first time in almost twenty years with a collection of quietly politicised songs

Those who are aware of Brian Eno will probably know him equally as a producer (U2, Coldplay) and a pioneer of contemporary ambient music. He started his career in the early 1970s with Roxy Music, but left after two albums to focus on what is regarded as a singular and influential body of work. Eno's first batch of albums comprised naturally gifted art-pop songs, but they soon made way for a succession of increasingly concentrated instrumental records.

The uppercase styling of FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE's title is an indicator of the significance he has given his 22nd solo album. Eno has something important to say about climate change, and to impart his thoughts he returns to vocal-based work for the first time in almost twenty years. Given the topic and the man's post-1970s recording history, everything is as you might expect. The music is minimalistic and devoid of beats, the vocals are imploring and morose, the lyrics are meditative and formal (sample: "Who gives a thought about the nematodes?").

For all that, Eno presents a collection of quietly politicised songs (and one instrumental) that will make you think. Whether they will make you spring into action is debatable.