I'm a newcomer to this genre, so I only feel comfortable expressing a rather limited, personal observation on this wonderful music (I'm reviewing Pause here as well). I originally bought this because I was intrigued by the song selection on Four Tet's Late Night Tales. Ever since the early 70s I've loved what used to be called British Folk/Rock (Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Incredible String Band, Steeleye Span, early Strawbs, etc.) and was fascinated by the idea that a young person nowadays would draw on these bands as influences. Hebden manages to capture the "feel" of much of the music of these great artists much more convincingly than I would have thought. But what really blows me away about this music is precisely what some criticize it for: it's pervasive quality of everyday normalcy. The thing is, a sane everyday "normalcy" is anything but normal nowadays. Somehow, this fragile, delicate music--every time I listen to it-- gives me hope that everything will be all right, and that the smallest things can give infinite pleasure when the big things are eluding you at the moment. It IS, somehow, Spring or Autumn music just as "In the Court of the Crimson King" is Winter music. And it reminds me of just sitting around and being totally blissed out by the things that go on around you everyday. As another reviewer observantly noted, a little like Boards of Canada without the occasional vague, sinister undertone. Hebden also uses acoustic instruments and percussion very skillfully (and very beautifully), often to carry the main theme through his calm, electronic wanderings. This seems to be aimed at a younger audience than me, but too bad, I'm a complete fan. When you're in the mood, nothing else will do. BTW, in my opinion Pause is more unified and the musical ideas somewhat more memorable. Both are highly recommended (4.5 stars). I hope for something more monumental, on the order of FSOL's "Lifeforms," in the near future. Given what seems to be Hebden's character, however, I very much doubt if he'll ever get to "Dead Cities."

I bought this album purely on the reviews. I had never actually heard the sounds of Four Tet before. After listening to the album about a dozen times, I can hear bits and pieces of Arovane and other IDM labels, but Four Tet fails to develop any of these sounds to any meaningful capacity. I wouldn't buy this album again, now that I've heard it. Of course, YMMV.

Producer/Composer/Mixer/Turntablist "Kieran Hebden", creates a unique record, by making a record that is parts "DJ Shadow", and taking the scratchy Trip-hop of "Portishead", and although on paper, it doesn't sound promising, `Four Tet' creates rhythms, beats, interludes with a very unusual choice of instruments `Acoustic Guitars, Harps, String arrangements, keyboards into a shuffling melodic experimentation of complex electronica / Hip-Hop, in a way that is unique to him. And his music demands more investigation for those seeking something a little leftfield in their music....but it's not just a form of `Glitch Hip-Hop', as Kieran produces tracks with as much warmth & substance as any contemporary Trip-Hop artists you care to mention, with some tracks stretching into sevens minutes, and others weighing in at a light 2 ½ minutes..yet all this Cd space is used intelligently, to produce something of a `unified' sound through the use of samples, Turntables, Progressive instrumentals, and magnificent composition.