SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BRIAN ENO & BEATIE WOLFE – LATERAL

BRIAN ENO & BEATIE WOLFE
LATERAL
VERVE RECORDS

Since 2024, Brian Eno (producer, musician, artist extraordinaire) has released four albums, five if you count all the EPs. He is adding two more to his catalog. On this album, (and on the companion Luminal), he is working with the artist Beatie Wolfe. Wolfe, besides being named UN role model for innovation, has had exhibitions in several prominent art galleries around the world, and has worked with REM’s Michael Stipe and DEVO’s Mark Mothersbaugh. She is also part of a research project looking at the positive impact music has on people with dementia. Both of these talented and busy artists found time to collaborate on two albums. Each album is very different, which is why both of the albums are reviewed separately.

Lateral is really one long song, divided into two, “Big Empty Country (Day)” and “Big Empty Country (Night)”. On the CD, it is just one track, “Big Empty Country”. Given that it is one track, one can safely assume that this album is another Eno ambient album. And, like all of his other ambient albums, it stands alone and is a brilliant work of art. With this album, Eno and Wolfe explore space, and maybe time. It is a very open, breathing album, full of sparse arrangements that ebb and flow like a tide.

Eno and Wolfe create a world of sound that takes the listener into their own space and head. The music is meant to be heard from beginning to end, with minimal distractions, but as with every ambient album, utilizing the found sound of the listener. The album opens in a very sparse mode, which sets the foundation. It starts to build within the song, and adds and layers throughout the piece. However, by the end of the album, all is quiet. The listener is at the beginning again, which is something Eno has done often.

The entire piece takes the listener through the “Big Empty Country” and with most of Eno’s ambient work, it is best listened to in one sitting. Wolfe seems to bring a hint of melody to the proceedings. There is a lot going on with this release, and the two have come together to create an ambient piece that develops around a slight tune.

As with all of Eno’s ambient work, there is a lot more going on than one initially hears. Lateral is multi-layered and is not so much full of twists and turns, but it is an interesting piece. Again, as with some of his best work, the music is intended to transport the listener. In this case, it is a big empty country. Eno and Wolfe have created incredible music and Lateral is the perfect title for the album. It does take the listener sideways and all ways.

Brian Eno Links

Beatie Wolfe Links