High

After the longest period between albums, eight years, The Blue Nile released High in 2004. It reached number 10 on the UK Album Chart, a record high for the band. Although acoustic guitar is still present on some tracks, the overall musical sound is more reminiscent of Hats.

The album was recorded in Glasgow, as the group had tired of travelling and living in other countries, such as the United States, Ireland, Italy and France.[6] They also decided to release it on Sanctuary Records instead of a corporate label, following Sanctuary’s A&R, John Williams, calling the band and suggesting releasing a record. According to Buchanan, the people at Sanctuary do not promise “to call on a Tuesday and then nothing comes of it”.