After the release of two solo albums in 2020, Parallel and Sixteen Oceans, you would’ve thought Four Tet would go on a hiatus for a while to tour and rest. However, that isn’t the case whatsoever, the British musician has been on a massive journey since, working with the likes of Madlib, William Tyler, Floating Points, Burial and even forming an impromptu dance supergroup with Skrillex and Fred Again – he’s even released side-projected music under the name “⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ”. Now, Kieran Hebden has returned with his twelfth studio album Three – a concept of live recordings that embodies everything that has come to define Four Tet over the years and intertwines the hypnotic allure of downtempo percussion and delicate textures of folktronica.
The opening track ‘Loved’ is certainly a highlight with its immersive mellow drum beat topped with effortless layers of smoothing synths that glide us into a world that hastens your approach to embrace, though it could be a tad bit longer.
Following on from this, ‘Gliding Through Everything’ is a clear sense of reflection with the beatless ambient gem morphing into a dreamy pop/shoegaze piece. There are some pretty moments but the idea of the second track is ultimately seems fleeting.
Then, ‘Storm Crystals’ brings back the downtempo hip-hop. Opening up with raw distortion, it highlights some of Hebden’s classic synths and samples that make his music so captivating. Is it too long as a lo-fi hip-hop instrumental at almost 7 minutes? As a matter of fact not. Four Tet has been known for creating songs that can last more than 30 minutes but always does so tastefully, and he has again here.
‘Daydream Repeat’ delivers an upbeat tempo to the album with its house beat and blast of harp melodies. However, if Three has a hit song, ‘Skater’ is it. It combines hip-hop with psychedelic rock to bring a bright and beautiful sound to the table.
Unfortunately, both ‘31 Bloom’ and ‘So Blue’ feel vague and obscure compared to the final track ‘Three Drums’ which closes out the album on a high note. It is a flawless outro that combines 90s-style synths and shoegaze layers, leaving us with a warm fade out of a female voice saying goodbye.
Overall, Four Tet has given us an album that gracefully combines the organic textures of his early work and more recent excursions that perfectly execute all of Hebden’s key strengths. Though there may be moments that aren’t highlights, the album is still very enjoyable much.
8/10