Review - The Appointed Hour

Pretension alert: Those in possession of any music burdened with lyrics, or fewer than three bottles of wine on their rack, may want to avoid this. Those, however, with a penchant for sad, Michael Nyman Sunday afternoons and ornate stemware dinner parties may find "The Appointed Hour" to be precisely on time. The concept here is pretty clear. Roger Eno, best known for his bloodline and his work with Kate St. John (Dream Academy!) in the erstwhile ambient act Channel Light Vessel, met up with sonic experimentalist Peter Hammill (Hawkwind) on a coach. Years of Christmas cards later, they decided to collaborate. Well, not exactly. The real trick came in the fact that they each spent exactly one hour in their respective studios, noodling about in real time to come up with what Eno calls "my hour of unsilence." The tapes were synchronized and this woozy wash of strings is the result.