“It’s got enough heart that we won’t accuse it of going through the motions, yet if that was all you ever asked from Four Tet, this is surely a dream come true,” says the reviewer on Sputnikmusic of Four Tet’s new album, Four, in a rather passive-aggressive review that calls the album “solid” and declares ” its impact is too modest and its aptitude for mood music too diffuse”. I disagree. As much as I rate 2020’s Sixteen Oceans, I think this is a deceptively better one (though I’ve read that Four Tet’s Alexandria Palace live album from last year is really good). Philip Sherberne on Pitchfork thinks it’s pretty decent: “There’s much more here than meets the ear: interruptions you never see coming, intimations of sounds in the depths of the mix you can’t quite make out. That’s what separates Three from the merely chill; it takes a master craftsperson’s skill to create music that scans so simply on the surface but then opens up to reveal hidden rooms within hidden rooms”.
So far, my favourite track is Daydream Repeat (possibly followed by 31 Bloom – the whole album more or less works as a single piece so it’s hard to decide!).