Someday World is the child of two parents: two musicians, Brian Eno and Karl Hyde, who would each likely appear in my own personal top ten favourite musicians. It’s pointless to try to summarise the breadth of Eno’s inimitable musical career within the confines of a mere music review; suffice to say he contributes his extensive experience with ambient music and production to elevate the record’s wistful pop with rich instrumentation. Hyde, meanwhile, brings his decades of experience in seminal act Underworld to bear with warm, enveloping electronica, while also providing his unique vocals, found somewhere in the intersection of stream-of-consciousness poetry and choral singing.
One hopes that fresh musical combinations would produce something new, an iteration of each artist’s style that unearths something unexpected. I’m not convinced that’s evident in Someday World. It’s a fine record, don’t get me wrong, a coherent piece of soft pop that’s perfect background music. That reads like a back-handed compliment and, perhaps, it is – the album is entertaining without being completely engaging – but I’m more referring to the record’s fullness of sound, the way it fills the room like inviting, fluffy clouds. It’s pleasant.
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