Four Tet - Ringer EP

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 25 / 5 / 2008

Label: Domino Records
Format: CDS

intro

Pleasant-on-the-ear, but repetitive and dull latest EP from the usually reliable Four Tet

Generalising wildly, there are two extremes in electronic music - music made solely for entertainment designed to be listened to at maximum volume in a club and music made solely as an academic exercise where the listening experience is, if we are to be honest, of minimal importance. Kieran Hebden’s music as Four Tet has always bridged these extremes. It has been playful, melodic and has made for an undemanding listening experience. But it has always also been adventurous, always capable of surprise and seemingly at the cutting edge of electronic music - without needing to be pretentious (well, not often, anyway!) I have been an especially keen fan of Four Tet for years now, and have seen him play live on several occasions, most recently when he was the outstanding act at last year’s Field Day festival. Alhough wedged behind a laptop, he manages to put on a captivating show, even while it is unclear what he is actually doing beyond playing the songs through his computer. As with his albums, Four Tet live has an appeal that isn’t really very easy to explain. Slightly disappointingly, Hebden has concentrated on other projects in the studio since 2005’s 'Everything Ecstatic'. The return of his post-rock band Fridge was a pleasant surprise, but while his collaboration with ‘legendary’ jazz drummer Steve Reid was surely thrilling to avant garde admirers, I can’t say I play my copy all that often. So a new set of Four Tet material is very welcome. Or at least it would have been, were this anything like as good as ‘Pause’ or ‘Rounds’. Four tracks over thirty minutes makes for a generous helping from an EP, but the indefinable quality that made his music so much more exciting than all the dull music stuck in the shadow of Aphex Twin is lacking on ‘Ringer’. Instead, we have four rather samey efforts, without the well-chosen tunes that have always set him apart. You might do the ironing to this music, and it will sit pleasantly in the background, but repeat listens reveal little more than uninspiring techno beats. A real shame.

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