Released 25/01/10

Domino Recordings



It's been a while but finally we have Four Tet- a.k.a Kieran Hebdan’s- first full L.P in five years since he released Everything Ecstatic. From the first listen you can tell that it is a return to form for Kieran with his exquisite use of loops, samples and layering of synths and riffs.

Although this album has the recognisable Four Tet sound it is quite a step away from the ambient acoustic/electronic sound of its predecessors such as Rounds. There is love in you drags you from the hazed filled living rooms of your stoner days with the floor covered in mouldy mugs and discarded crisp packets, and on to the bright lights and pounding beats of the dance floor. Although its definitely got much more of dance vibe than the rest of his back catalogue this isn’t reach for the lazers kind of dance; this is more melodic, calculated and euphoric.

You can defiantly tell that Kieran’s mates have had a big influence on the sound of this album and knocking around with the likes of Burial and Joy Orbison is certainly not a bad crowd to be hanging around with. Just take a listen to Four Tets collaboration with Burial on“Moth” and Joy Orbison’s remix of “Love Cry” to see what I mean. Four Tet also recently finished a residency at notorious London Club Night Plastic People, which clearly has had a massive influence on the way that this album sounds with him even naming one of the tracks after the Club night.

The album begins with “Angel Echoes,” a beautifully ambient piece of house music with the haunting female vocal that is so familiar these days; yet Four Tet still manages to keep sounding fresh and new.  With the twinkling xylophone and plucked strings this is a great introduction to the sound of Kieran harking back to the Four Tet of old. Next up is the lead single from the album, “Love Cry”. From the first minute of this song you have no idea which direction this tune is gonna take and then the drums kick in and all becomes clear. The tribal beat is helped along again by the looped female vocal with Kieran adding different elements and layers through out the nine minute dancefloor stomp building and building the listeners anticipation.

“Circling” brings us back down from the high of “Lovecry” onto familiar ground. With the looped strings and the electronic stabs I could quite happily just float away to this synth induced nirvana. After the short instrumental interlude of “Pablo’s Heart” we are dragged straight back to the bright lights with “Sing”; a glitchy house behemoth which sounds like the ringing in your ear if you’d been playing your Super Nintendo for a week straight with no sleep. It also reminds me of “Moth” in the way that he’s found a brilliant hook and built the whole tune around it.

“This Unfolds” swirls around a simple repeated bass line with Kieran’s guitar and bubbly synths soothing the pounding bass drum that kicks in from nowhere. This track wouldn’t be out of place on Aphex Twin’s ambient works compilation. “Reversing” carries on the chilled vibe with the ambient soundscape feel which leads into the track “Plastic People”. You can certainly feel the influence of Four Tets djing stint at Plastic People coming into play on this track. This is a very haunting piece of Dance music with its slightly awkward off key hook possibly influenced by his pal Burial’s dark and brooding style. This is one to put on at five in the morning after crawling home with flying saucer eyes after snorting your own weight in plant food (as all the kids seem to be doing these days........the youth of today).

The album closes with the brilliantly named “She just likes to fight”. I feel this is Kieran giving a nod to his hardened fans of old and showing that he’s not completely changed from his old ways. Focusing on picking up his guitar this time rather than the synths this track is driven by the familiar rhythm of bongos,  but still assisted by the kicking of the bass drum and his simple yet effective string picking is a beautiful way to end his long awaited comeback.

If you are wary of dance music; don’t be. Your not gonna see some nobhead in a blacked out fiat panda with a fridge light stuck to the bottom of it pumping this album out at 300bpm of their tinny, shitty distorted speakers. This is Dance music with a lot of skill and thought behind it, it is everything Dance music should be; beautifully crafted and uplifting. 

Posted In Album Reviews, Jan 27 2010. Words - Si Edwards