There is nothing quite like having to follow up a great record. 2003's Rounds was such an album; engaging, beautiful and charismatic. And for an electronica album, or "IDM" if you must, that was really something. Ironically, it was even released in the same month and on the same very label as Ulrich Schnauss's latest attempt to create the perfect soundtrack for middle class Ikea shopper's dinner parties. Though in theory the two were similar, in practice the two were very much polar opposites; a Jackson Pollock painting on one side, an off beige suburban wall on the other.
Two years on and Kieran Hebden returns, in perfect time for summer as ever. "Smile around the Face" retains the blissed out, windows wide open, curtains fluttering, summer breeze vibe Hebden captured so effortlessly on Pause. The mixture of live drumming, laptop beats and intermittent saxophone on "Sun Drums and Soil" go a long way to capturing a sound similar to that which Four Tet produces in a live setting. The often large difference between Four Tet on record and Four Tet in concert has, in the past, left some fans disgruntled upon not hearing their favourite songs from Rounds replicated bleep for bleep at gigs. Perhaps inevitably, and even intentionally, Everything Ecstatic seems to step away from the sound of 'Rounds' into a more earthy direction. When it does, such as on the aforementioned "Sun Drums and Soil," it's at its most exuberant, absorbing and generally most interesting. Providing more than just simple background music, it's an enthralling enough entity in itself to keep the listeners focus fully on what's coming out of their speakers.
Unfortunately, there are songs here that will leave you far from ecstatic. Predictable puns are perhaps the best way to ease someone into a song like "Hive Fives." Five minutes after it's played through you've already forgotten what it sounded like. It comes a little too close to the coffee table electronica market for comfort, in most cases it will leave the listener feeling a little cold, and ultimately, a bit bored.
When it comes down to it, this is far from a bad record. When Hebden branches out and seems to try things from a slightly different angle, by and large it works. Everything Ecstatic just becomes a little marred at points, dragging until it gets a sudden injection and takes off into a more interesting direction.
