Four Tet - Everything Ecstatic

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 19 / 5 / 2005

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Review

On the soon to be classic 2003 album 'Rounds', Kieran Hebdon became the leading light in the electronica scene. Blending abstract free jazz styled electro with pretty pastoral electronica, he crafted a unique sound, that was challenging without being unmistakable, and never got boring. A true innovator, Hebdon deserved the elevation to the Premier League, usurping Boards of Canada as the band indie kids love to name drop in the eclectic wars. It would, however, have been foolish to expect another album in the style he had developed and perfected across three near faultless full lengths. Some have been let down by his new disc, (it isn’t 'Rounds' part two) but anyone following Hebdon closely expected it. This album is not so much the follow up to 'Rounds' but the extension to his original catalogue of the drum centred approach he took on his exceptional remixes of tracks from the 'Madvillain' album. On that, he took Doom’s unique MCing and fitted it to a relentless wall of drums, sounding unsettling but invigorating. Drums are the focus of this album, the instrumental range of before largely abandoned in favour of tighter scripted explorations. 'Sun Drums and Soil' is largely a collage of drums, with a few droning effects and some horns. It is effortlessly lifting. The sound is tight, but fresh, and despite the limitations of sound, does not for a second get boring during its six minutes. Like Underworld’s masterpiece 'Beaucoup Fish', this track has a trance like effect, and frankly is as stunning as anything he has produced previously. Nearly as good is 'Smile Around The Face', which has some distorted, speeded up samples, and betrays the influence of Kanye West, who turned speeding up old soul records into an art form. I am a Kanye West obsessive, and this track is a delight. It has the same kind of self confident swagger that made 'Through The Wire', the best song of 2004, and displays a musician utterly sure of himself. Some of the more ambient tracks are, however, below par. Where the looser passages of 'Rounds' added much to the soul of that album, here they feel like filler. When the songs are more about rhythm than melody, these segments simply feel like a dip. Nevertheless, this is a minor quibble. There are only three such tracks, and they make up a tiny percentage of the album. For those who mourn the death of Four Tet as the leaders of folktronica, I say this. Who wants to lead a scene of pale imitators? For every Primal Scream there is, after all, a Soup Dragons. On 'Everything Ecstatic', Four Tet is neither a jazz combo, a electro-wizard, or a hip hop DJ. He is essentially unique. Yet, despite this, it is not quite his best work. I loved his second album, 'Pause', but in retrospect it was a slightly disjointed exploration that lead to the masterpiece, 'Rounds'. This album is blessed with stunning tracks, but doesn’t flow as seamlessly as his last album. But, I imagine, it is a step forward that will lead to a masterpiece, and it isn’t far from being one itself. So, in conclusion, you need to own it!

Track Listing:-

1 a joy
2 smile around the face
3 fuji check
4 sun drums and soil
5 clouding
6 and then patterns
7 high fives
8 turtle turtle up
9 sleep, eat food, have visions
10 you were there with me

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