Brian Eno

In his fifth decade, Eno is on a bit of a late career creative roll. Drums Between the Bells comes hot on the heels of 2010's Small Craft on a Milk Sea, which quite closely followed the 2009 collaboration with David Byrne, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. What's more remarkable is just how varied these albums are from one another. Part of the difference is conceptual – an Eno strong suit if ever there was one. Drums is a collaboration with poet and artist Rick Holland, whose words are spoken over the 16 tracks. So, Drums is Eno's spoken-word album, but what shines brightest isn't the language so much as the complex, warm soundscapes underneath and around them. The poems are delivered in an ethereal, deadpan style, rendering these musical compositions more art pieces than songs. The fact that Eno can still compete with many of the contemporary acts he influenced is a massive feat of its own.