Four Tet - There Is Love In You
Kieran Hebden – the man otherwise known as Four Tet – has carved out a fascinating little niche for himself in the past several years, with a clutch of stellar remixes for the likes of Sia and Radiohead, a stone-cold classic album with 2003’s Rounds, and even a couple of brilliant singles such as "Smile Around the Face" and "No More Mosquitoes". He’s even spawned his own subgenre in the music press in “folktronica.”
With There Is Love In You, Hebden’s sixth as Four Tet, he largely sticks to what he does best; songs of beautiful, organic instrumental electronica, displaying the so-called folktronica for which he is known. However, as warm and lovely as these songs are, they somehow seem more inconsequential than on previous records; these songs are more content to slip unnoticed into the background, without demanding too much of the listener’s attention.
Part of the problem is that – in layman’s terms – these songs don’t “do” anything much. With songs like “Angel Echoes”, “Circling” and “This Unfolds”, Hebden seems content to find a pleasing rhythm, a few choice sounds, and stick with them for the song’s duration. The ingredients themselves vary substantially – compare the electric harp of “Circling” with the sliced-and-diced beats of the relatively up-tempo “Sing” and the rolling drums and guitar of “She Just Likes To Fight” – but the results remain fairly consistent throughout.
The same can’t be said for “Love Cry,” the album’s longest song, and it’s unquestionable highlight. Here, Hebden’s funkiest and most intoxicating rhythm to date pounds away for nine minutes, whilst a hypnotic stew of electronic noise and splintered, disembodied female voices bubbles around it. Again, it doesn’t “do” much, but when music is as wonderfully hypnotic as this, it doesn’t have to.
Even with any faults in mind, Hebden is still probably the best in the world at this kind of music. Even if it’s far from being essential listening, if you’ve enjoyed any of his previous albums, then chances are you’ll still find plenty to love in There Is Love In You.
With There Is Love In You, Hebden’s sixth as Four Tet, he largely sticks to what he does best; songs of beautiful, organic instrumental electronica, displaying the so-called folktronica for which he is known. However, as warm and lovely as these songs are, they somehow seem more inconsequential than on previous records; these songs are more content to slip unnoticed into the background, without demanding too much of the listener’s attention.
Part of the problem is that – in layman’s terms – these songs don’t “do” anything much. With songs like “Angel Echoes”, “Circling” and “This Unfolds”, Hebden seems content to find a pleasing rhythm, a few choice sounds, and stick with them for the song’s duration. The ingredients themselves vary substantially – compare the electric harp of “Circling” with the sliced-and-diced beats of the relatively up-tempo “Sing” and the rolling drums and guitar of “She Just Likes To Fight” – but the results remain fairly consistent throughout.
The same can’t be said for “Love Cry,” the album’s longest song, and it’s unquestionable highlight. Here, Hebden’s funkiest and most intoxicating rhythm to date pounds away for nine minutes, whilst a hypnotic stew of electronic noise and splintered, disembodied female voices bubbles around it. Again, it doesn’t “do” much, but when music is as wonderfully hypnotic as this, it doesn’t have to.
Even with any faults in mind, Hebden is still probably the best in the world at this kind of music. Even if it’s far from being essential listening, if you’ve enjoyed any of his previous albums, then chances are you’ll still find plenty to love in There Is Love In You.
7 / 10
posted by Bob @ 7:17 pm
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