#1242 Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

There was no linear progression for Talk Talk, it was just an acceleration right off a cliff: after the hints of experimental expansiveness on Colour of Spring, this next album jumped right into wholehearted meandering minimalism. It's ambient, atmospheric, tense, barely there, that distant muted trumpet a recurring theme, with only the occasional burst of pent-up energy. Far more here to admire than to enjoy, it takes some nerve to make an album this sparse out of nowhere, and a little bit to listen to it too 3/5