Four Tet - DJ Kicks

Kieran Hebden's new DJ Kicks mix is sadly not a patch on his brilliant Late Night Tales from last year. As he writes in the liner noters, 'analogue synths and electronic effects mixed with live drums seem to be a consistent sound here,' and, yes, it gets tedious. There are a few detours into disco, jazz, and hip hop, but nothing very memorable. Also, if you're picking one track to represent grime/dubstep, why pick a shoddy instrumental by So Solid Crew? Apart from Autechre's 1994 B-side 'Flutter', the best thing here is actually 'Pockets', a new track by Boba Tet himself, which consists of (good grief) yet more analogue synths over live[-sounding] drums, but borrows its groove from the Neptunes and its atmosphere from 70s cop show themes. Bodes well for a return to form after the self-indulgence of Everything Ecstatic and the Steve Reid sessions.