BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE

This might be one of the most inconsistent albums I own. Here you have incredibly annoying pop songs mixed with beautiful atmospheric songs. It just doesn't work as an album at all. It's like if Slayer made an album with their typical style and threw a few country songs in the mix. I like diversity in albums, but this isn't really diversity. Just two opposite styles showing up every now and then.

As said, the atmospheric songs are beautiful. They make up the high points of the album entirely and are packed with emotion and tasty ambiance. Not emotion that'll bring you all the way to tears, but it's nice. However, tears do come in when you here Eno's voice during the pop songs. Just thinking about it makes me rummage for the earplugs. Not even the great drummer Jaki Liebezeit could save "Backwater" from Eno's vocals which sound like a drunk uncle attempting karaoke.

Simply put, it's an album that has pretty good highs, but embarrassing lows. 4 stars for the atmospheric tracks, 1 for the poppy songs. That would come to 2.5 but since this album just doesn't seem to work as a whole, I am rounding down to 2.