Back in 2001, a little known band named Fridge released their album Happiness.The album consisted of nine tracks with titles such as ""Cut Up Piano and Xylophone"" and ""Sample and Clicks,"" exemplifying the band's ability to make musical ideas out of chopped and looped fragments. Although Happiness lacked full-fledged songs and barely registered a blip on the radar of the American music scene, the album demonstrated Fridge frontman Kieran Hebden's capacity to craft gorgeous melodies and truly unique grooves.
Although college tore apart the three members of Fridge, Hebden continued his musical experimentation under the moniker Four Tet and quickly became one of the biggest names in the electronic post-rock scene. Hebden achieved his greatest success in 2003 with the release of Four Tet's critically acclaimed Rounds, which earned him a spot opening for Radiohead on their tour in support of Hail to the Thief . Since then, Hebden has spent his time honing his abilities by working on various projects, including a collaboration with exceptional jazz drummer Steve Reid, all the while releasing one full-length album (2005's Everything Ecstatic), a few EPs and many remixes as Four Tet. With these accomplishments behind him, There Is Love in You is a very anticipated, if not overdue, release.
As always, Four Tet employs lots of samples, loops and electronic debauchery on There Is Love in You. But instead of colliding with one another, the different muses seem to overlap beautifully, creating a very living, moving sound. On the opening track, a woman's voice is looped and contorted to sing ""There is love in you"" over a series of bells and a basic four-beat drum sequence that perfectly illustrates the title of the song, ""Angel Echoes."" In fact, on several songs the music seems to perfectly match the title of the track, a testament to Hebden's mastery of his musical tools and the moods and ideas he can convey with them.
What may be most impressive about There Is Love in You is how Hebden shifts through different boundaries of his musical past while keeping intact a unique sound that flows from one song to the next.
Tapping into his DJ sets from the last couple of years, Hebden shows off his dance club chops with the songs ""Love Cry"" and ""Sing."" However, the guitar-based closer ""She Just Likes To Fight"" is very reminiscent of his post-rock work with Fridge, and provides excellent closure to the album.
It's hard to argue that Four Tet has concentrated his work considering this album features four songs over six minutes in length, but I'm going to anyway. Although Rounds still may be considered the best Four Tet record, many of its songs simply drag on, whereas the tracks on There Is Love in You don't drag, they build. Listen to the centerpiece track, ""Circling,"" and this will be abundantly clear. Drawing upon his years of experimentation and his unique ability to loop and contort musical fragments, Four Tet kicks off the new decade with a focused, grooving, genre-bending album that comes more and more to life with every listen.
