Brian Eno

Lux is Brian Eno's third album for the now-legendary Warp label, following his recent collaboration with Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams on Small Craft on a Milk Sea in 2010 and Drums Between The Bells, last year's collaboration with poet Rick Holland. Lux sees the ambient music pioneer deviate from his recent path, bringing us a solo record that hearkens backs to his early ambient work, especially his 1978 masterpiece, Music For Airports. Consisting of one 76-minute composition in 12 sections — divided into four tracks on this release — the album grew out of an installation piece Eno recently worked on for the gallery of the Palace of Venaria in northern Italy. Lux might not be breaking new ground, but given the beauty and resonance inherent in Eno's music when he sticks with what he does well — namely, gorgeous, slow moving ambience with plenty of breathing space and emotional impact — revisiting familiar turf is just fine.