“Spirit of Eden” by Talk Talk

It’s the upcoming 35th anniversary of Talk Talk’s abstract post-rock masterpiece.

I’ve listened to Spirit of Eden many times, including one with fresh ears recently for this review, and it’s never ceased to surprise me. Each time, I’ve gone into it thinking I know it better than I do. I prepare myself mentally for the big payoffs, only to be caught off-guard by other, quieter moments of subtler but no less dizzying beauty. Maybe it’s because we’re so trained to experience pop or rock music through structure: verse, bridge, chorus, instrumental break, solo, and so on. Instead, this record plays more like jazz, consisting of 6 tracks that flow seamlessly between each other, creating a 41-minute suite that’s an exercise in mood and atmospherics. This is music you feel deeply, through each perfectly placed note or silence, rather than merely hearing or admiring it.

What’s remarkable is how organic every second sounds. Nothing’s ever forced or overwhelming, nor is it calculating or contrived. The band makes the difficult appear effortless as if the arrangements and lyrics are all being played, sung, and heard by us for the first time. Floating above the dreamy soundscape is Mark Hollis’ voice, appearing like a ghost in a candlelit room. He talks of failed relationships (”Desire”), the horrors of drug addiction (“I Believe in You”), and how to find the strength to carry on in spite of the pain (“Inheritance”). And yet, despite that description’s vibe, Spirit is far from a downer. It’s ethereal without a hint of pretension, which makes it sound hopeful rather than cynical. Often imitated but never equaled (except maybe with their 1991 follow-up, Laughing Stock), it birthed an entire aesthetic for rock at the dawn of the 90s, giving artists permission to lean more heavily into the spiritual and textural.