High Water (El-P album)
# High Water (El-P album)

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. It peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :

| Aggregate scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| BBC | unfavorable |
| Dusted Magazine | unfavorable |
| JazzTimes | favorable |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10 |
| PopMatters | favorable |
| The Village Voice | A− |

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.

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." 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." 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." 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." 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."

## Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

* El-P – composition, production, arrangement, mixing
* Matthew Shipp – piano
* Daniel Carter – reeds, flute
* Steve Swell – trombone
* Roy Campbell – trumpet
* William Parker – double bass
* Guillermo E. Brown – drums
* Harry Keys – vocals (7)
* Tim Conklin – recording
* Scott Hull – mastering
* Cynthia Fetty – art direction, photography
* Loretta Wong – design, layout

## Charts

| Chart | Peak position |
| - | - |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 46 |
