Four Tet - There is Love in You

Domino Records

Released: January 25th, 2010

This is the London-based producer and musician Kieran Hebden's 7th release under the moniker Four Tet. The electronic musician has been remarkably consistent over his career. There is Love in You is no exception. As with previous efforts, this album goes beyond just electronic music and ventures into minimal house, folk, post-rock and, to a lesser degree, field recordings.

This awesome music to work/draw/write too. The soundscapes created here are easy to get absorbed into and the pace for the most part is nice and gentle. The music isn't strictly electronic either. Hebden's musicianship comes through with his live instrumentation of guitar, piano and that tiny keyboard thing I had when I was a kid.

My favorite album by Four Tet has always been 2004's Rounds and this album isn't quite on that level. There's the lack of the "glitchy-ness" on previous work that gave the compositions more character. I also wish that there was more of the found-sounds and field recordings that were present on the earlier records. It's still there. It's just not as much.

Songs that I really dug were also some the longest on the album. "This Unfolds", "Plastic People" and "Love Cry" all top out between 6 to 9 minutes. This makes sense, because the fact that these compositions are so complex and layered, time is really needed to let them unfold. Overall though I will say that There is Love in You has a lot more of a minimal house sound than the "folk-tronica" sound of earlier records. Good album all-in-all though.

RIYL: Fuck Buttons, Animal Collective, Neu!

Rating: 8.0