Ambient demigod Brian Eno and modern bass & Boiler Room poster boy Fred Again team up for a rather unexpected curve ball. It seems that Brian has taken the lead on "Secret Life", forcing the young upstart to ditch his rampant, ADHD-fueled finger drumming and inferno-causing bass-garage-house hybrids for an exercise in what his next door neighbour (true story), and mentor, specializes at - the most serene ambient music around.
It's a delicate, spacious listen; with Eno's famous use of reductive techniques allowing the most precious of elements all the room they need to sparkle - like a tiny Faberge Egg presented in a vast, grandiose, but pin-drop silent gallery. The use of silence given plenty of reverence. There's smeared vocal and string manipulations that reverberate from almost heavenly realms, and in parts, it's like the antithesis to Burials recent dystopian ambient project "Antidawn" - exploring the more optimistic territories of the Skyrim metaverse in a non-linear structure which suspends time and allows you to drift in and out of its liminal reality.
It'll sit comfortably by your side on a rain soaked day languidly pottering around the home, or set the perfect atmosphere for your next art show installation; or even serenade your new born into a dreamlike slumber. I can't help feeling its one of those albums that'll be really affected by the environment in which it is aired. Like much of Eno's work, it's a subtle listen that I'm convinced will reward the deeper and more attentive listeners.
