Brian Eno’s ‘Before and After Science’ Is Typically Idiosyncratic

After hearing Before and After Science, his typically odd fifth studio release, Brian Eno neophytes will not be surprised to learn that he once owned 31 tape recorders; that he has worked with David Bowie, John Cale, and Roxy Music; and that he prefers to call his tracks “programs.” At any rate, he is one of rock’s most idiosyncratic figures; and this album, which runs the gamut from abstruse electronics to a quote from Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash,” takes a bit of getting used to. In fact, I’m still not totally acclimated to the deliberate starkness and coolness of Eno’s aural landscapes, but I am coming around. If you like Bowie’s Low and works of that ilk, you’ll probably like this, too.