I don’t say this very often, but it’s a good thing my first listen to Four Tet’s latest record, There is Love in You, was through my computer. If it had been on CD—or, preferably, vinyl—the opening track, “Angel Echoes,” would’ve had me thinking something was wrong with my hardware. The glitchy nature of it makes it sound like it just keeps skipping, which is surely the effect mastermind Kieran Hebden was going for. And once I followed up that first listen with a few more, I focused less on the skipping effect and more on the beauty and infectiousness of the track.
There is Love in You is Four Tet’s first true full-length in nearly five years, a follow-up to 2005’s critically acclaimed Everything Ecstatic and another fantastic electronic album from one of the genre’s leading gurus. It flows from glitchy electronica to downtempo melodic songs with ease, and does so in a manner that makes the album sound almost like a dialogue, complete with the peaks and valleys of a true conversation.
Of course, there are the standout tracks and the, well, less-than-standout tracks, but definitely more of the former than the latter. The first real standout is “Circling,” the third song on There is Love in You. It’s slower pace and sweeping instruments hearken back to some of my favorite Four Tet tracks (namely “My Angel Rocks Back and Forth” and “Slow Jam” from Rounds). Another standout is “This Unfolds,” an airy and romantic tune with a simple drumbeat and plenty of Hebden’s signature background sounds.
Considering it’s been roughly half of a decade since Four Tet’s last full-length release, it’s obvious Hebden hasn’t lost his touch. There is Love in You is a well-laid-out album full of some of the band’s best songs to date. Whether those songs are the background at a party or setting the mood for something else, they’ll be just perfect. |