Rating: NNN
Music is full of tried-and-true formulas, but one that never fails to satisfy is setting solemn emotion to upbeat music.
Ambient music innovator Brian Eno and Underworld singer Karl Hyde’s first joint album (following a handful of collaborations) isn’t exactly a crying-on-the-dance-floor record, but the intention isn’t far off. Someday World is an fully realized blend of electronic and acoustic sounds that elevates the mundane, austere details in the lyrics into a state of ecstasy.
These nine songs are constantly in motion, captured in purest pop form on the propulsive Daddy’s Car, but expressed more unpredictably in the extended polyrhythmic breakdown and existentialism of When I Built This World. The album basically captures the best of both men – Eno’s tumbling, complex arrangements and Hyde’s aching romantic riffs and melodies – in one clear-eyed, concise vision.
Top track: The Satellites
