„Reviewing reviews“
Not one but two new Brian Eno albums to aurally digest, each made in collaboration with conceptual artist Beatie Wolfe.Lateral brings to mind Eno’s past outer space-related ambient endeavours with younger brother Roger and Daniel Lanois, but with Wolfe’s involvement the album seems to be more of a sonic comfort blanket to wrap oneself up in whilst gazing up at the stars… or wishing one was up there with them. As for Luminal,it’s very much a sister album to Lateral. Wolfe has written its lyrics, and also sings on these 11 songs, which are produced magnificently by Eno. Think luscious dreampop with shades of a country twang and you will be close to what is achieved on this album. The instrumental Lateral and vocal tracks of Luminal are each as captivating as they are deeply moving, and both albums complement each other very nicely too. (David Nobakht)
Icn sammle derzeit, im Netz, Besprechungen der beiden Alben „Luminal“ und „Lateral“ von Beatie Wolfe und Brian Eno bzw. Brian Eno und Beatie Wolfe. Ein knappes, gutes Dutzend ist derzeit verfügbar, etliche werden noch folgen. Neben wenig überraschenden „appraisals“ von den üblichen Eno-Berichterstattern Wyndham Wallace und mir, finden sich respektvolle wie bewundernde, ja, begeisterte Besprechungen vor allem des Songalbums. Eine klare Tendenz, auch wenig überraschend: der Songzyklus wird generell positiver bewertet, mitunter hymnisch gefeiert; das „Ambient-Opus“ bekommt, je nach Standpunkt, das polemische oder das leicht gelangweilte oder faszinierte „Echo“, im Grunde, wie es bei „Ambient Music“ seit „Ambient 1“ (1978) der Fall ist. Ich möchte, wenn ich genug gesammmelt habe (niemand muss mir was schicken, ausser, Jan R., wenn da was in der New York Times zu lesen ist!), die Besprechungen von „Luminal“ besprechen. Zwei Dinge noch: einmal gibt es seit gestern, das in den Klanghorizonten im DLF als „Premiere“ gespielte „Play On“ als Video – HIER – und, zum zweiten, die „lyrics“ von „Play On“, bei den „comments“… (Michael Engelbrecht / Foto: Manuela Batas)
3 Kommentare
flowworker
Play on
Play on
The night
is young
Stay close
Stay near
We’ve just
begun
To run
Moments combine
Fall out of line
Unclear
A spectre of space
Taking your place
Appears
Hold on
Hold on
To all
Of this
Burn bright
Stay quite
Oblivious
My Prince
All of the shapes
Move through your lips
And fly
The spiders below
Under your spell
Reply
Play on
Play on
The night
is young
Stay near
My dear
We’ve just
Begun
To run
Moments of mine
Start to unwind
Until
Nothing but space
Trying to talk
And feel
Play on
Play on
Our time has come
Lyrics by Beatie Wolfe
flowworker
What We Are
What We Are
Here
In the stars
Can you trace
What we are
Where
Is the line
That divides
You and I
Nights
Fading fast
Made to live
Made to last
Cry
With the wind
Let it out
Let her in
Dance
Like you can
Conjure up
Holy land
Cos in a flash
We are born
Like a babe
In a storm
Every face
Every form
Lives in us
Hold on
Night is coming
Will you stay
Will you stay
Loving
Like a landslide
Falls away
Falls away
And like a prayer
Never to be heard
Never in a word
I’ll meet you there
Hold you tenderly
Cradle you to sleep
Cos in a flash
We are born
Like a babe
In a storm
Every face
Every form
Lives in us
Hold on
Night is coming
Will you stay
Will you stay
Loving
Like a landslide
Falls away
Falls away
lyrics by Beatie Wolfe
Hans-Peter Muller
On Amazon.
Luminal is part of a collaboration (the companion is Lateral, an ambient piece of more than an hour) between American artist and activist Beatie Wolfe and English musical genius Brian Eno. It is a song album with 11 beautiful, sometimes catchy songs (Suddenly, What We Are), a collection of love songs (especially haunting is Play On), sometimes resembling a lullaby (Hopelessly At Ease). It is about serious matters in A Ceiling And A Lifeboat and Never Was It Now. It is sometimes touching to tears and sometimes astounding for its sounds and airs. Its definitely Eno. And Beatie.
According to dictionaries, Luminal refers to the inside or interior space of a tube-shaped organ, like a blood vessel or the intestines. But it also relates to the quality of being luminous or having light-related properties. The light which generates deep emotions. It is what Eno’s music has been most of the time, for more than 50 years now.
Highly recommended.
I like it when Eno credits small animals, as the frogs on Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills) or the Yellowhammer on Making Gardens Out of Silence in the Uncanny Valley (I’ve written about it here: https://aliqapoo.com/2023/10/07/how-does-a-yellowhammer-sings/). Here we find electronic frogs only on Breath March, a song so difficult that I have it not comprehended yet.