100 Unheralded Albums from 2010

Brian Eno: Small Craft on a Milk SeaBrian Eno: Small Craft on a Milk Sea (Warp, 11/2/10)

Brian Eno: “2 Forms of Anger”

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Long credited as a pioneer of ambient music, Brian Eno is back with his first album in five years and his first for Warp Records.

Small Craft on a Milk Sea is a collection of 15 short, sullen instrumentals that achieve simultaneous beauty and creepiness.  Pieces may build from a slight, elongated intonation or assemble more quickly, but something is always appearing, changing, or disappearing.  Eno is credited for synthesizers, production, and (hard-to-discern) vocals, but the album couldn’t deliver greatness without co-conspirators Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams.