Rounds by Four Tet
Rounds begins with an irregular thump, thump, thump which sounds like the beating of a heart. It seems appropriate that each time I hear It consider my own mortality. The song works its way to a simple keyboard part that repeats and ties the entire song together. The song unfolds beautifully with erratic cymbals and tom rolls which rest on the keyboard part and are eventually joined by a steady snare beat and an electronic bass throb that grows and fades in volume as if done manually on a knob. There is no verse or chorus, no bridge or coda; but this song is kinda perfect without any of that.
Four Tet is the side project of Kieren Hebden, a member of the band Fridge. Kieren uses keyboards, samples, loops, guitars, pianos, harps, vintage keyboards and loads of percussive elements to bring together his signature sound, which is easily recognizable after a listen or two. Many of the songs have an abrasive cut up quality to them that can carry you to the edge of chaos but then bring you safely back to the core of the song, which I find more fascinating than annoying. I think that you'd be hard pressed to find any two measures of a song that sounded the same because of the endless layers and variations in percussion and virtually every other element of the song.
Rounds is a great album that I keep getting stuck in my head and coming back to. All of the songs are instrumental and span styles from hip hop to ambient to rock. But to tell you the truth Kieren Hebden really just invented his own sound, because no one else sounds quite like him. I'm going to see Four Tet play this week and I am excited about the show, thanks to this album (even though its a few years old).
9.0/10 By Chris L.
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