THURSDAY AFTERNOON

Brian Eno has always been a man to put atmosphere first in all of his works, whether it be his art rock directions with Another Green World and Before And After Science, or his more well known ambient experiments of Music For Airports or Discreet Music. Like most highly innovative electronic musicians, Eno has a key sense of knowing fully well what his music is capable of in terms of space and flow. His subtlety is unwavering in terms of this music, and he manages to create not only some amazing pieces of art through it, but also one of my favorite albums ever recorded in music history, that being Thursday Afternoon.

Many people would probably ask me why I'd consider this album to be Brian Eno's best work, and it is both from a musical standpoint, but also from a technological and personal one as well.

This piece is all about subtlety. The whole sequence of events can be seen as a purely simple excursion, a simple looping of an acoustic piano mixed with an electronic backdrop of synths and nature recordings, but that is what it might seem at first. This hour long venture is all random, and what you may think as a repetitious cycle of calm noise is actually a very technical display of skills, with the chords on the piano changing so subtly with each passing moment, that once it finally hits you, you realize the full potential of Brian Eno's ambient workings. To me, this is the peak of Eno's ambient portfolio.

Whilst musically, it might be good on its own, the technological side of things allows it to shine. This is one of the first albums to take advantage of the then new CD format, and so Eno decided to create a 60 minute deliverance upon this beautiful venture. To some this might be excessive, but to me this showcases the almost beautiful array of technology Eno can master, modern or not. To me, this makes Eno one of the most modern musicians in recent memory, that, no matter the changing times, will always remain ahead of the game, and it is something I have always found endearing. This wouldn't be the last time Eno would take his hand at using new technology for his music as 30+ years later he'd release Reflection, not only as a CD and vinyl; not only a seasonal album that changes its run time, but also an app on IOS that went on for infinity. I'd say the 60 minutes add to the album's whole appeal for me, being this one hour, constantly changing piece that I always find new discoveries with.

However, this album has a distinct impact on me as a person. I do not like to get personal in my reviews as I am of the mindset to show music first rather than what it did for me in my personal life, but for this review I feel it is needed. I listened to this last year in January, and I consider 2022 to be one of the worst years of my life so far. I faced many challenges during that year, with friendship, emotions, stress, sexuality, and me as a whole. It was the year where I felt truly angry, bitter, and above all else, sad in my life. It was a roller coaster that I wished never happened. But, whenever I felt a cold wavering of emotions through me, I would listen to this album at the middle of the night, fully. It started with January as I was under a ton of pressure within my school work, and it not only calmed me, but also gave me a sense of hope, a sense that everything will be alright in the end, and soon whenever I felt stressed, or under pressure, I would always try and calm myself with this piece of music. Sometimes it didn't work, I admit, not every impactful album in my life can be played every single moment, but, whenever I am in the mood, I will always play this record to give me serenity. This is an album that means so much in the long run, and it helped me get through the past year, and hopefully many more to come.

This hour long masterpiece Eno has made is in a special place in my heart. It is the album that, again, helped me get through the past year, and I think it deserves much recognition. While it may seem simple, this piece has layers to me, and it is an album that I do not think I can live without. Truly, truly amazing.