If you were to go back to 1974 and look at all of the albums released that year, and all of the popular artists on the airwaves, who would have bet that the legacy of Brian Eno’s ambient music, and his album Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy would still be influencing music a half century hence? Yet the ripple effect of Eno is still felt and heard, with the two bringing together bass guitars, Chapman sticks and synthesizers to create a rich sonic wallpaper of ideas that come across like musical Northern Lights.
The nine pieces here come across almost like parts of a suite, meant to be taken in as a whole, rather than in separate parts. Things start with static hovering idea on “Cascade Ridge” with ripples and emanations on “Avalanche Gulch”. Nimbus clouds threaten to precipitation with dashes of bass work on “Trinity Rock” and “Ash Creek” with cool pulses on “Tamarack” followed by the grey rolling fog of “Shadow Lake” . Reflective warmth settles on “Pluto’s Cave” and by the time you reach “Cosmic Ridge” the sun is setting with a hint of a clear night sky. Music to be felt as well as heard.