High Life
by Brian Eno
  • Record Label: Warp
  • Release Date: Jul 1, 2014
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
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  1. Pitchfork
    Jul 2, 2014
    85
    A startling and inspiring record. Eno’s been involved with quite a few of those in the past, but it’s especially nice to experience a new one that reaches us in the present moment.
  2. Paste Magazine
    Jul 1, 2014
    84
    The six-track album (seven if you buy the digital, eight if you pony up for the vinyl edition coming out in August) has the internal warmth and jubilant spirit that its predecessor was lacking, with the music appearing to blossom before you rather than clacking by like a train.
  3. NOW Magazine
    Jul 10, 2014
    80
    By dispensing with typical pop structure in favour of improvisation and repetition, the pair achieve and maintain an openness and momentum that Someday World lacked. It feels alive.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Jul 1, 2014
    75
    The team weaves electronic tones, human voice and hypnotic rhythms to create a beefy work designed for maximum volume.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Jun 30, 2014
    75
    This alien brand of funk is far more open-ended and abstract than the first album, and better for it.
  7. Magnet
    Aug 6, 2014
    70
    Since it's art, the more you listen, the more you'll find here. [No. 112, p.55]
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  8. Clash Music
    Jul 31, 2014
    70
    While not entirely successful, this set’s spontaneity is its greatest strength.
  9. Uncut
    Jul 7, 2014
    70
    High Life has none of its predecessor's busy, over-caffeinated temperament. [Aug 2014, p.73]
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  10. Spin
    Jul 2, 2014
    70
    Unlike Someday World, the far thornier High Life doesn’t improve much with repeated plays: These are egghead jams whose esoteric textures bewitch more than their relatively static frameworks.
  11. AllMusic
    Jun 30, 2014
    70
    The constant repetition with more or less subtle shades of developing dynamic and texture in all but the last of these tracks creates a nearly endless groove. And perhaps that's the album's point, creating an album of dance music that's fun to listen to; a mirror image of Someday World's more carefully structured avant pop.
  12. Austin Chronicle
    Aug 21, 2014
    67
    Uniquely imaginative, the duo's efforts will seduce like-minded forward-thinkers, but High Life will be too ostensibly weird to be widely digested.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Unpersona
    Jul 4, 2014
    8
    The critics aren't evaluating this correctly, so I had to jump in and represent. This is a great album, it harkens back to Eno's heyday withThe critics aren't evaluating this correctly, so I had to jump in and represent. This is a great album, it harkens back to Eno's heyday with My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (deeply abstract, vibrant and impassioned live performances) and the hypnotic groovy-ness of Remain In Light's polyrhythms. High Life is his best work in 20 years and yet it feels spontaneous and current, which is refreshing. It sounds like Eno being inspired by more outside forces than just the legacy of his previous accomplishments.… Full Review »
  2. adhamhany
    Jul 20, 2014
    8
    For Brian Eno, i only listened to his 1975 album "Another Green World". I really enjoyed it, and there are some tunes that i still remember,For Brian Eno, i only listened to his 1975 album "Another Green World". I really enjoyed it, and there are some tunes that i still remember, despite last hearing them years ago. Truly unforgettable stuff.

    I got this album, hoping that it has the same level of brilliance of the previously mentioned one. Unfortunately, it doesn't; which made me feel a bit disappointed.

    But when i gave it a second listen, i realized that it's pretty much impressive in its own right. Tracks "DBF" and "Moulded Life" boast some really cool and fast electronic music, while "Return" and "Cells & Bells" are more relaxing and slow, but no less mesmerizing.

    The remaining two tracks (there's only 6 of them) are okay, but didn't capture my attention in any special way.

    So in the end, i can say that this is a pretty great electronic album, and a pretty great Brian Eno album. Check it out.    … Full Review »
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