Eno • Hyde – High Life

This is such an under-the-radar album. I feel it's one of the more interesting musical releases of the past decade. The pressing is also excellent. The gatefold packaging is very nice and the mastering/press quality are both great. Don't hesitate of pick this up on vinyl if you're a fan.

A challenging record.. I usually don't really like a lot of Brian Eno stuff but this is interesting. It uses guitar-based loops in a similar way that Underworld use electronic loops with Hyde doing his thing over the top. Not all tracks feature Hyde singing which is a bit of a shame but there really are some interesting moments when he does.

Track D1, "On a Grey Day", has a few loud pops about a minute in. It's unfortunate because it's a quiet track, plus it's the vinyl exclusive. Looking around online it appears this was actually a manufacturing error so I would guess all the copies have it.

As for the album itself...as many have noted, it's might be the best Eno LP since Before and After Science. Really cool guitar-led funk, kinda like a weirdo Talking Heads. Not as song based as the other Eno/Hyde album, a lot of of it is mostly jamming on certain loops. Arguably for a bit too long, all the 9+ minute tracks have these stretches where nothing really happens, but the music is so cool it's hard to dock it for that. Still, you get the sense this was assembled fairly quickly.

By the way, is that really Karl Hyde singing on "Time To Waste It"? It sounds like Dolly Parton!

this album puts me in the right mood to start my day, very positive and relaxing vibes. the pressing is top quality and the art print is pretty nice.

What can I say... this album has been a slow grower. Each listen more inviting and enjoyable.
Pressing, mastering, packaging, as always for Warp records, is first rate. The 2 x LP track list order, bonus tracks, and audio quality make for a much more enjoyable listen than CD version.

This album is so much better, more organic, natural and intriguing than the Someday World release. I suspect this is an important essential release in the Eno camp discography. It's fresh - yet familiar and sounds different on each listen. Classic!!