Disquiet

So, Brian Eno, studio-as-instrument innovator, has a new album out, Another Day on Earth (Hannibal/Rykodisc). It’s his first full-length song-form album since his cantankerous collaboration with John Cale on Wrong Way Up, back in 1990. What little difference the time makes. It’s still Eno, still ambivalently axiomatic in his lyrics, half sung and half spoken, his voice a kind of neutral tone seemingly effortlessly in tune with his imagination, itself a kind of mantra engine. Ryko is promoting the album with two “podcasts,” which as always means little more than extended free downloads, in this case a 10-minute montage of portions of the album (MP3) and a 20-minute conversation about the recording with Danny Hillis (MP3), both the men being board members of the Long Now Foundation (more info at longnow.org). More info on the new record at rykodisc.com and anotherdayonearth.com.

By Marc Weidenbaum