High Water
Studio album by
El-P featuring The Blue Series Continuum
ReleasedMarch 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)
GenreElectronic, jazz fusion
Length44:06
LabelThirsty Ear
ProducerEl-P
El-P chronology
Fantastic Damage
(2002) 		High Water
(2004) 		Collecting the Kid
(2004)

High Water is a collaborative studio album by El-P featuring The Blue Series Continuum. It was released through Thirsty Ear Recordings on March 9, 2004.[1] It peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
BBCunfavorable[5]
Dusted Magazineunfavorable[6]
JazzTimesfavorable[7]
Pitchfork7.2/10[8]
PopMattersfavorable[1]
The Village VoiceA−[9]

High Water was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71 based on 9 reviews.[3]

Reviewing for The Village Voice in September 2004, Tom Hull said this album "shows more meat" than the previous two Blue Series Continuum albums, "probably because El-P carves what the band gives him rather than smothering it in sauce."[9] Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "In sum, it's a moody and haunting record with a few highs, a few lows, and lots of shades of blue to make your way through."[4] David Moore of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.2 out of 10, saying, "El-P's edits and subtle production work strengthens the ensemble's more indulgent moments."[8] He added, "El-P sometimes seems reluctant to interfere with the ensemble's improvisation, which is a shame considering that the album's strongest tracks show him taking the reins from individual players."[8] Meanwhile, Stefan Braidwood of PopMatters said, "El-P has now proven beyond all doubt that he merits a further word in his description, and that word is: genius."[1]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Please Stay (Yesterday)"2:37
2."Sunrise Over Bklyn"10:33
3."Get Your Hand Off My Shoulder, Pig"6:34
4."Get Modal"5:06
5."Intrigue in the House of India"6:33
6."Something Is Wrong"4:09
7."When the Moon Was Blue"6:42
8."Please Leave (Yesterday)"1:51

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[2] 46

References

  1. ^ a b c Braidwood, Stefan (April 30, 2004). "EL-P: High Water". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "El-P: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "High Water (Mark) by El-P". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "High Water - El-P". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Marsh, Peter (2004). "El-p High Water Review". BBC. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Bivins, Jason (March 10, 2004). "El-P - High Water". Dusted Magazine. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Segal, Dave (June 1, 2004). "El-P: High Water (Mark)". JazzTimes. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Moore, David (October 31, 2014). "El-P: High Water / Collecting the Kid". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Hull, Tom (September 28, 2004). "Jazz Consumer Guide (2): The Caribbean Tinge". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 25, 2020 – via tomhull.com.

External links

El-P
Authority control databases
Categories