FOUR TET EVERYTHING ECSTATIC ALBUM DOMINO RELEASE: MAY 23, 2005REVIEW: MAY 17, 2005

Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) is one of those truly unique artistic voices in electronica, whose fingerprints can be heard clearly in his music despite the lack of vocals, and the recognition of his musical stamp has always been a pleasant one. Four Tet's rummaging in sampled sounds, resulting in beautiful if at times hyperactive melodic romps, is much more personal and engaging than most other found sound appropriators.
Anybody present at one of Hebden's gigs last year has seen this coming: his beat based and brutal approach on stage ruled out another blissful zen koan in the style of "Rounds". "Everything Ecstatic" is Four Tet diversifying, rebelling against the "folktronica" tag and looking for a way out of its little box by attacking the walls with blurps, beeps and harsh beats wielded like hammers. Towards the end he is out of breath and slows down with some ambient exotica more similar to his earlier work. But he is distracted by his breaking out project and his heart is clearly not in it. There is a difference between developing your expression and re-inventing your style. I can't help thinking that Four Tet chose the wrong option this time around.

MATTIAS HUSS