Every now and then the wind blows the right way and Joe Pollard can be found workin’ it behind the Record Exchange counter just like old times. Record Store Day was one of them. (Joe wears the Devo energy dome well, don’t he?) We used the occasion to bug Joe to contribute a Staff Pick of the Week, and he chose a good one, Four Tet‘s latest There is Love in You:

It’s been nearly five years since the last proper Four Tet release Everything Ecstatic, but I dare say it has been well worth the wait, especially since Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden has actually released quite a few singles, EPs and remixes; along with hooking up with old bandmates (Fridge) and legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid (with whom Kieran has recorded several jazz-oriented albums).

It’s not too often that an artist can be equally skilled at creating their own uniquely brilliant songs and can also remix someone else’s work into something even more impressive; but original albums like Everything Ecstatic and the reworked cuts from 2006’s Remixes are testaments to Hebden’s talents in both of these regards.

There is Love in You is an album that would go over equally well among the dance club crowd in the wee hours of the morning or the early afternoon Sunday brunch mimosa sippers. Songs like “Love Cry” and “Sing” are super beat-happy cuts that pulse and throb, but have a softer edge than some of Four Tet’s earlier originals. Other songs like opener “Angel Echos” or “Reversing” may not be quite so dance-centric, but they do swirl about one’s brain very nicely, with lots of gently little bleeps and blips as well as gooey layers of ethereal sonic haze.

Despite the subtle nature of There is Love in You, the album is addictively easy to play over and over and over; it’s one that you can throw in the CD changer for weeks on end and not ever feel overly compelled to take it back out. 

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