Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror in Bloomington, MN

The second in
Brian Eno
's
ambient
series,
The Plateaux of Mirrors
fuses the fragile piano melodies of
Harold Budd
and the atmospheric electronics of
Eno
to create a lovely, evocative work. In sharp contrast to the exaggerated pieces found on his debut,
The Pavilion of Dreams
, this record finds
Budd
delivering sharp shards of piano notes pregnant with meaning and minimal in the best sense of the word.
's unobtrusive electronics add a resonance and atmosphere that draw from the
textures found on
Discreet Music
,
Music for Films
, and
Evening Star
. The album's best moments evoke their subject matter efficaciously and effortlessly;
"First Light"
creates an audible early morning chill,
"An Arc of Doves"
employs flights of
Frippertronics
"Not Yet Remembered"
seesaws between sleep and consciousness, and so on. Although neither artist is a musician in the usual sense of the word --
's piano playing is still somewhat limited here -- they excel as musical painters. The wisps of synthesizer that snake through the rattling percussion of
"Wind in Lonely Fences,"
the wistful melody held at a remote distance in
"Among Fields of Crystal,"
the unbounded edges of the piano notes on
"Above Chiangmai"
-- these wash over the listener in a suffusion of sound.
remains a fascinating hybrid (as are many of
's collaborations), reflecting the uniqueness of both composers in a most flattering light. ~ Dave Connolly