Back in the mid-1990s Brian Eno and Karl Hyde could not have been much further apart – Eno busy with production work, Hyde shouting ‘lager, lager, lager’ at Underworld’s peak. Yet here they are working together, in an album that coaxes some interesting and occasionally inspired music from the pair. There is a freshness about the collaboration that appeals, especially in the moment when ‘Daddy’s Car’ breaks out into a fatter groove, a curious blend of Underworld beat and vocal with Eno restraint. ‘A Man Wakes Up’ is another of these instances, a track that becomes quite a full bodied vocal number, while ‘Witness’ is a heartfelt epic whose pulses pull at the heartstrings. Hyde in particular seems to be challenging himself by working in this way, and can often be found in reflective mood, though his choice of accent on ‘Who Rings The Bells’ is a little odd. The results of ‘Someday World’, then, may not always entirely convince, and often drift out of focus, but they form an often compelling effort.
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
