Following four years after The Drop, Drawn From Life sees Brian Eno collaborating with German DJ J. Peter Schwalm. (Music for Onmyo-Ji, a previous Eno/Schwalm work from 2000, was released in Japan only.) Those who soured at the distant crispness of The Drop will find this to be a more inviting listen, even more so than Eno's 1996 collaboration with bassist Jah Wobble on Spinner. Jazzy, shuffling rhythms and strings that sway from cutting to sighing lay the foundation of most of the tracks, with some repetitive nonmusical effects often falling somewhere in the mix. If there is a fault of the record, it's that the vocals often get in the way of some fine background listening. If you don't have an affinity for Laurie Anderson's voice, you might be troubled that "Like Pictures, Pt. 2," which otherwise happens to be one of the record's most melodic and tranquil tracks, is interrupted by her intonations…

Neuzeit, which German electro-acoustic composer J. Peter Schwalm views through his new duo outing with the Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, is generally taken to refer to the modern era that began in the 16th century and witnessed the rise of Western Civilization. Schwalm chooses to take the term onits face, however; the fusion of “new” and “time” he defines as a period marked by sudden and drastic change. To borrow another word from the German, it ably yet dauntingly captures the zeitgeist of our tumultuous moment, one in which political upheaval, global pandemic and catastrophic climate change seem poised to usher in an uncertain new existence.