For as long as I can remember there has been a single album that acts as my annual soundtrack to the three month stretch from mid-August through mid-November. It comes on as the summer heat slowly dissipates during the late summer evenings of the northeastern United States, marked by the increasingly active cicada calls and cricket chirps. I call this time of year “Pearl Season”, after The Pearl, an album by Harold Budd and Brian Eno, with additional production credit going to Daniel Lanois.
The album was released in 1984 but didn’t come onto my radar until at least ten years later. Since then it has been firmly in my top five most played albums, possibly top three, but I’m not insane enough to really know.
It’s a beautiful collection of sparse, electronically treated piano tracks that are at times as haunting and sad as they are beautiful. The tracks have enough space to allow the listener to interpret the emotional impact in a very personal way. For me, even the melodies that lean toward darkness bring about a feeling of hope.
Likely inspired by “Late October”, the title of the opening track, at some point in the last fifteen years or so I started paying closer attention to this album during the transition from summer to autumn. The music seemed like a natural fit for the way I felt during that time of year, which had always been my favorite. Over time, the “Pearl Season” expanded and now the album dominates my listening a full quarter of the year. It’s like an annual visit with an old friend.
If you’ve never heard it, give it a spin or three. And keep in mind that it seems to get better and better as late October approaches.