Welcome,
Herein lies the first of an ongoing weekly challenge betwixt two friends to review relevant, pleasant, challenging or historic albums that neither would listen to independently.
The players:
BeingMused - Fan of the truly alternative. Electronica, indie, etc. bored by conventionalism
IlJipper - Fan of country, rock and "indie" music that employs big guitars and thoughtful lyrics. Favorite artists : Lucero, Pavement, Mission of Burma, Wilco
IlJipper's first challenge: Four Tet Rounds
Four Tet is apparently actually some guy named Kieran Hebden. This gave me the idea to go by The Matlock Expressway when I decide to pursue my solo career. So, essentially Kieran is a very talented musician whom also knows how to utilize a laptop to his benefit, and crafts some very pleasant electronic music.
Rounds starts off very gently with the song "Hands." This is a perfect opener to an album of this nature, and it utilizes the process of building something out of nothing rather than the typical monumental building process that so many "indie" bands are using these days instead of writing good songs. The next track actually threw me off a bit, as I was exposed to Four Tet's angular sample interspersing. This is apparently a signature of Four Tet's sound, but I was unprepared and felt very disoriented and uneasy about the experience.
Tracks:
"My Angel Rocks Back And Forth" starts with a lovely meandering piano part over drum and white noise. This is a beautiful track, the piano really adds a layer of juxtaposition to the ambient noise interplay with the drums. At 2:30 the track takes a decidedly different approach to it's ultimate fate. Adding the oh so common studio "trick" of looping a reversed phrase from the piano while at the same time upping the tempo on the drums "Now, we can almost do the trance to this!" Through all the mire that was added, this is still a beautiful track. Sadly, I have to sit through the schizophrenic "Spirit Fingers" until the highlight of the album begins to play.
"Unspoken" will be the ultimate challenge, as it is 9:31 long and I have not yet been sold 100% on Four Tet's style. Fortunately, the sound splicing was not overwhelming and actually turned the longest piece on the album into one of my favorites.
After the height of the album, we are let down until the last track. "As Serious As Your Life" features a guitar, as well as a general tempo and feel, that just seems out of place. It's not that it's bad, it just doesn't fit the rest of the album and seems to be a forgettable track. This is followed by "And They All Look Broken Hearted" which just doesn't do it for me. I assume it must be emotional. All of the elements are great, the jazz drumming samples, the sparse usage of noise, the warm keyboard, the japanese stringed instrument...I just don't like it.
"Slow Jam" has a doggie toy, that's cool. It kind of sounds like a Pavement song from all the demos that have been released. I like it.
In Review:
Since listening to this album for the review, I've actually gone back and listened again. For some reason in everyone's lives we're introduced to something that breaks down a preconceived belief. Baraka changed my mind as to what movies could do, Chuck Palhniuk and David Sedaris took two different angles to alter my perception on a novel, and The Descendents, Mission of Burma and Uncle Tupelo reinvented my musical tastes years ago as much as Philip Glass or JS Bach had done previously. Four Tet's Rounds isn't necessarily going to make me an electronica fan, but perhaps it has allowed me the ability to listen for more in a genre I had previously detested.
