Inspired perhaps by his recent studio/live collaborations alongside Steve Reid, this four track, 31-minute long EP represents something of a stylistic departure for Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden, as it eschews the densely percussive and polyrhythmic explorations of his recent preceding work in favour of a far more stripped-back and streamlined approach geared firmly around the 4/4 kickdrum.

Running in at just under ten minutes, the opening title track manages to provide a good taste of the predominant mood on offer here, with clicking, retro-drum machine Krautrock rhythms sliding their way beneath an almost hypnotic backdrop of analogue synth loops, in an offering that immediately recalls Neu! or Harmonia’s best ‘racing into the horizon’ moments. And while there’s a brief appearance of live splash cymbals right towards the end, it proves to be merely a tease as the synthetic rhythms lock straight back in. Ribbons meanwhile sees skeletal tech-house rhythms teasing their way out from amidst a dubbed-out background of burbling melodic tones, only for things to end up somewhere between DJ Pierre’s rattling drum machine attack and Hallogallo’s cosmically cycling synth-prog atmospheres, before Swimmer ventures somewhere closer to sparse, minimalist punk-funk, as delayed-out guitar strokes ripple over phased-out snarework that recalls Liquid Liquid thrown through a Space Echo.

Finally, Wing Body Wing takes this EP to a close amidst rippling synthetic tones that call to mind Cluster’s space-obsessed glide, shortly before the appearance of huge stabbing distorted synths shows some nicely fanged edges lurking beneath the beatifically spinning melodic tones. Something a little different this time from Kieran Hebden that shows him no less inspired, and in fine form.

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