Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Spin OCTOBER 21, 2010 - by Andy Beta

BRIAN ENO WITH JON HOPKINS AND LEO ABRAHAMS: SMALL CRAFT ON A MILK SEA

Pop music's brain-for-hire gets best out of himself.

Glam godfather, ambient inventor, oblique strategist, superstar producer, the very sound of Windows - it's easier to laundry-list what Brian Eno isn't. But after compartmentalising his strengths in recent years, Eno also proves to be a peerless synthesist on Small Craft On A Milk Sea. Made with longtime collaborators Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams, the album is a bell curve of sound, bookended by placid yet alien miniatures reminiscent of On Land. Eno unleashes tempests of breakbeats (Horse), electro exotica (Bone Jump), even roiling post-rock (2 Forms Of Anger), creating a perfect storm.