Brian Eno's "Reflection" Is Simple But Powerful

Ambient music is otherworldly. Weird, glossy textures swim through mysterious landscapes and create vivid pictures open to your own imagination. Brain Eno's new album Reflection may be simple, but it gives you more than just a perspective of another world: it gives you a perspective of your inner self.

Reflection consists of one single track, but that track is 54 minutes long. So going into this record, be ready to be in it for a long haul. The 54 minute track length does provide material to keep it going, though. "Material" might not be the right word, as the album doesn't really have much going on within it. It's crystalline beginning quickly becomes something more spacious and curious, a synth playing smoothly as it travels through time.

What makes Reflection effective isn't so much its content, but its emotion. Anyone can make an hour long track full of synths, but it takes talent to have that same element change mood so many times and stay so pure throughout such a long time. You'll find yourself getting lost in retrospection and bleak but impressive scenes as you listen through this track. You can find yourself lost in a glowing cave or traveling through the darkest stretches of space, all the while remaining lost in a sort of trance. It's ethereal presence is something you won't expect to find, but end up being truly invested in.

Brian Eno is a genius. He managed to make a simple 54 minute synth track so powerful. Ambient music is something that requires an open mind to really get into, but Eno knows just how to play it so that it will capture any listener. Reflection will take you to places that stretch your imagination while still taking a peer into your own mind.

Rating: 86 / 100

Buy or listen to Reflection on Amazon: