The first full length Four Tet album of new material since 2005's Everything Ecstatic finds Kieran Hebden returning to his alter ego moniker with renewed vigour.
There Is Love In You isn't an album to share, though. It's an immersive record that constantly demands your attention with each new sample being expertly added to the mix. To really appreciate the ambience created here, headphones are probably a good idea. The irony is that much of the material was road tested during Hebden's DJ sets over the last year at London's Plastic People.
Opener 'Angel Echoes' gets going with a techno bassline and some cymbals before a cut-up vocal starts to dominate the track. The words that make up the album title sound vaguely familiar, while various blips and bleeps help to elevate this past something that Moby would produce. It leaves you with a sense of post-club euphoria.
'Love Cry' carries on this feeling with a slow building bassline and drum loop that slowly introduces new layers over nine minutes. It's only on the third track, 'Circling', that a more ambient electronic atomosphere starts to prevail. Swirling synths and strings create a calm and expansive backdrop.
The rest of the album follows this template with odd noises being used to great effect. The sound of Hebden's Godson's beating heart is an obscure momentary pause to proceedings on 'Pablo's Heart', before the multi-layered 'Sing' gets into full swing.
'This Unfolds' uses guitar elements similar to those that could be found on an Arab Strap album, and then later 'Plastic People' sounds as if it's a tribute to Aphex Twin's more ambient leanings. Hebden's obviously been taking notes from a wide variety of sources and it's no surprise that his patchwork technique pays dividends with each subsequent listen.
With There Is Love In You's nine tracks lasting around 45 minutes it's seemingly very focussed and less sprawling than some electronica albums that just concentrate on building expansive soundscapes. It's an overwhelmingly positive experience, which avoids many of the more experimental flights of fancy that could have made it a difficult listen.
Rating: 4/5