new four tet

Four Tet is an artist who, for a very long time, I felt distinctly "meh" about - an indie rocker's idea of electronic music: pretty enough, but flimsy and anaemic; neither quirky or interesting enough to compete with the IDM/Warp crowd, too sketchy and bodiless to count as dance music, and lacking the satisfying largesse of chilled out home-listening music by contemporaries such as Bonobo or somesuch.

Then a few years ago he started releasing stuff that really made me sit up and pay attention. It was like he'd had some sort of production evolution where suddenly his productions were lush, enveloping, hypnotic and super-satisfying. Loved the more dancey stuff too from KH and some of the remixes and collabs he was doing - definitely someone who had finally grokked onto the idea of music made for soundsystems rather than Apple speakers.

So I'm realy not sure about this record: It really feels like the kind of thing he'd have released ten or even twenty years ago. Pretty, but simplistic chiming melodies, box-ready drum-loops, a noticeable thin-ness and lack of overall bite. It's nice, but it's too nice for me.

Yeah this sounded a bit like an early 00s indietronica record to me too. Nice but anaemic. I keep hoping it will push past the politeness and go somewhere interesting but it never does

idk if i agree. are "31 bloom" and "three drums" polite indietronica

what impresses me about this record is how often it shifts approaches and palettes while remaining cohesive. feels like a four tet greatest hits on some level (not complaining)

Three Drums is a standout and made me keen to hear the album. But yes, washy shoegaze moments aside I'd say it's a fairly tame piece of music. I've heard vaguely Boards Of Canada'y drumloops like that too many times in my life to feel super-hyped over something like this. Same as the shoegaze influence I guess; I mean, it's cool and all and I the track is "nice" but shoegazetronica isn't something that's going to blow me away in 2024.

31 Bloom is as polite as it gets as far as I can tell. Again, it's not unpleasant, but that paper-thin house beat makes me feel like I'm listening to a Kompakt Total compilation on a shower-radio.

So Blue is my fave so far, I like the vocal snatches and the laid-back jazzy feel.

Mostly it's the rhythm on this album, and a lot (but not all) of his other work: Too often it's a vaguely pretty melody just slipping in and out over a jazzy hip-hop drum loop straight out of a Grand Central compilation from 2001; not much in the way of low end. It's all a bit Grizzly Bear for my tastes.

I know he can do stuff with bite. Mango Feedback was great, really effective. Teenage Birdsong was sweet and felt satisfying to listen to. His stuff as KH fkn SLAMS. So he knows his way around a beat. Just here it sounds a bit reserved, dare I say uninspired, rhythm-wise.

I'm with DL, it's his dance singles that really hit for me these days.

this is nonsense, four tet has and always had some of the best drums in the business, instantly recognizable

corrs otm, i've never been a super big four tet fan. i like him just fine, he has never made a fully classic album tho.

that being said, even i've jacked his open drums on several occasions because they're always fucking sick.

"Three Drums" and "Daydream Repeat" are loud.

neither quirky or interesting enough to compete with the IDM/Warp crowd

As one of those IDM/Warp peeps from the late 90's, Pause and Rounds felt iconic and essential when they came out, and sounded as good and as "new" as any IDM record I was listening to at the time. Was refreshing to hear acoustic sampled instruments configured in a very mid 90's melodic IDMish style, with hip hop at its base. Evoked the vibes of Susumu Yokota and Boards of Canada to me, while feeling fresh and distinct. I revisit Four Tet's older records far more than I do by anything from Bonobo from that same era.

Whatever people think of Four Tet, Bonobo has always struck me as Diet Four Tet.

Bonobo is Fisher Price Four Tet.

My First Dancey Melodic Electronica Record.

octo otm. it's more post-rock but I also go back to Dialogue a lot

When I mentioned Bonobo I was using it as a shorthand for "pleasant chill-out music for normies", which isn't really a slight because everyone needs relaxing beats to chill to/study to.
But as others are saying, Four Tet should be way beyond and outside of that realm, especially at this point in his career. I just don't hear it on this album.

Is anything on Three as good as, arbitrary example, Flim? No. But Three Drums is close, as is Daydream Repeat. Is it chilled beats to relax to for normies? Wtf is a normie? I’ve got two kids and I’m 45 next month and I love this record and I saw Four Tet live in 2003 etc etc etc.

my favorite four tet thing is that madlib album he put together a few years ago

Okay so the hierarchy goes

Bonobo = Diet Four Tet
Four Tet = Diet Aphex Twin

What is Aphex the Diet version of? VSnares? Ae?

don't think Four Tet compares to Aphex much at all, maybe Boards of Canada though. I always did think Pause kinda made me recall my teenage years the same way MHTRTC makes me think of childhood

VSnares is definitely a Four Loko by the way

love this new one. very simple, very effective

What is Aphex the Diet version of? VSnares? Ae?

the real snob move here is to say that his emotiveness can't compare to the Detroit guys

Four Loko? That's like the US version of Buckfast or something isn't it? In which case, definitely.

the real snob move here is to say that his emotiveness can't compare to the Detroit guys

― default damager (lukas), Thursday, April 4, 2024 3:50 AM (eleven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Real snobpinions

xp yes indeed though I'd bet anything Buckfast tastes better. also important to note Four Lokos cost about $1.99

there are very few things that Buckfast tastes better than

last time I had a Four Loko I thought it tasted like someone dropped a bag of Jolly Ranchers into a pint of paint thinner

Does anyone else hear 'Storm Crystals' referencing 'Ending (An Ascent)' around the 4-minute mark?