ALBUM REVIEW - Karl Hyde - Edgeland


Karl Hyde:
Edgeland:
Universal:
Out 22nd April:

8/10

Underworld’s Rick Smith and Karl Hyde have opted to park their pet project for a while, possibly still flushed with the Olympic fever of 2012 during which their music sound-tracked various broadcasts, in particular the grand opening ceremony. Their most recent album Barking was given a mixed response but I for one loved it from start to finish. 

Smith’s plans remain under wraps but Hyde’s are clear – he’s been busy working with Brian Eno’s recent collaborator, Leo Abrahams. Edgeland is the result, a decidedly less hands-to-the-lazers affair than Underworld’s typical output and more in keeping with the quieter moments on Oblivion With Bells or Second Toughest in the Infants. Cut Clouds, the recent promo, is a desolate atmospheric hymn that has the potential to awaken the nape hairs on your neck, while the dubbed-out Slummin’ It For The Weekend isn’t far removed from Abrahams’ efforts with Eno on their collaborative Small Craft in a Milk Sea album.

While there are definite moments of downbeat catharsis here, Edgeland’s variety does occasionally extend into the lighter side of Karl Hyde’s creativity. The opening The Night Slips Us Smiling Underneath Its Dress could pass muster as a floor-filler, while the catchy The Boy With The Jigsaw Puzzle Fingers is a likeable romp with Hyde sporting a laddish accent that hovers dangerously close to The Streets’ Mike Skinner in places. Don’t panic – I did say it was likeable and most of this album sees Hyde in, well, typical Hyde mode.

And much of Edgeland is very likeable but, like all journeys through gritty urban landscapes, it can be a frustrating process. Just as things get going, so they break down or fall apart and this is occasionally true of this debut solo album. Thankfully, the good outweighs the ugly and the plaintive and melancholic Shadow Boy is as good as it gets, benefitting from Hyde’s deft vocals and Abrahams’ reassuring electronic fuzz gently fizzing in the background. Closing song Sleepless wouldn’t shame David Sylvian if he covered it, a glitchy, distorted little epitaph that rounds up this nine-song set convincingly enough. 

 Although not a rampant beast with bangin’ beats as you might expect, Edgeland is a rewarding travelogue through solemnity and solitude.