Brian Eno has announced his first studio album in six years, ForeverAndEverNoMore, due Oct. 14 via Verve/UMC. Today (July 28), Eno released the first single, “There Were Bells,” with an accompanying music video.
The 10-track record was devised at his studio in West London and is the first album featuring his vocals on the majority of the tracks since 2005’s Another Day on Earth. For over forty years, Eno has been an innovator in spatial audio and an early pioneer of the ambient world. “There Were Bells” builds on his three-dimensional soundscapes while raising the red flag on climate change. The chirping of birds can be heard in the background of his minimalist composition as a grim Eno recalls, “There were horns as loud as war that tore apart the sky / There were storms and floods of blood of human life.”
Eno wrote the song for a performance at the Acropolis in August 2021 with his brother Roger. It was 45 degrees in Athens on the day of the concert with wildfires blazing just outside the city. “I thought, here we are at the birthplace of Western civilization, probably witnessing the end of it,” Eno said.
The forthcoming album continues to warn about the ongoing climate emergency and the devastating consequences of sweeping it under the rug. The record was produced by Eno and features contributions from Leo Abrahams, Roger Eno, Peter Chilvers, Clodagh Simonds, Cecily Eno, Darla Eno and Jon Hopkins.
“Like everybody else—except, apparently, most of the governments of the world—I’ve been thinking about our narrowing, precarious future, and this music grew out of those thoughts,” said Eno of the album. “Perhaps it’s more accurate to say I’ve been feeling about it…and the music grew out of the feelings. Those of us who share those feelings are aware that the world is changing at a super-rapid rate, and that large parts of it are disappearing forever…hence the album title.
You can check out the video for “There Were Bells” below, along with the official tracklist and album art for ForeverAndEverNoMore.
ForeverAndEverNoMore LP and Digital TRACKLIST
1. Who Gives a Thought
2. We Let It In
3. Icarus or Blériot
4. Garden of Stars
5. Inclusion
6. There Were Bells
7. Sherry
8. I’m Hardly Me
9. These Small Noises
10. Making Gardens Out of Silence
ForeverAndEverNoMore Artwork:
