4.0
A swirl of brain food encompasses Tet’s twelfth solo album; comprising of his best titbits on the decks.
OVERVIEW
As far as Four Tet’s (Kieran Hebden) recordings and live shows go, they are wildly contrasting. An artist who is unafraid to let go and run off with it, his arena-sized shows have been known to compound and delight, with handshake deals made with Skrillex, Fred Again… aswell as gratifying remixes with the likes of Swift’s Love Song compiling to the mix, Hebden has a tendency to go big, or simply pack up his crates and go home.
I mean, he plays Hol’s Country Riddim for crying out loud. A dubstep anthem that was unleashed one too many times on both his homerun shows and the trio’s surprise show at Times Square back in February last year, his sole purpose is to perform, with an ace up his sleeve. His mischief-making behind the decks are what has made him a key powerhouse figure in the world of electronic music. But had you have told me that this was the same bloke behind this record, I’d have laughed you out of the room.
It’s almost as if his wildly erratic antics on-stage are a play-by into his inner child cravings and when he dives into the studio for his works (which are set to be out in the world forever), he becomes studios in design, almost restraining himself to make a successive album that makes sense. It’s on his records where we see him at his most reliable. Often consistent in tone, sparkling in moonlit ambience and glitzy instrumentals, it’s aura personifies an artist stead-fast and focussed in compounding a best-of catalogue. And Four on Three here, is no different.
song-to-song
The 8-track record, trimmed and proper, starts off with classic Tet territory with Loved, a ruminating run-through of mellow trills and a cozying backbeat by the fire. Gliding Through Everything offers a beatless soundscape awash with wind chimes and bells. The only thing needed to encapsulate the sleepcast audio content would be waves lapping. Perfect. Storm Crystals encapsulates a wavy synth melody before weaving in the undulating use of dubbed-out harp. Daydream Repeat starts locking in the dancefloor rhythms, chugging out a house-like swathe while Skater meanders into a song chocker with both guitar anchoring and echoic harp, harp and more harp. 31 Boom staggers into Hebden’s glee of techno technicals that was so prevalent in the ’10s with There is Love in You. So Blue is a master craftman’s working-out of intimate sounds, otherworldly possessions and a keen ear to what really makes this type of music sing. There’s minor indentions that you wouldn’t of heard the first time around. It’s a gloriously tied-up album dripping in ambience and super-fluid creativity.
The 8-minute epilogue of Three Drums is a mastery unto itself. Gyrating synths, breezy percussion, 8-bit video game markers, gallant white noise. This piece has it all. As does the album, matter of fact.
manvmusic.com 
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