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The record offers something to nearly every audience that could approach it, with a bit of a groove for electronic fans, an obtuse sense of music-making for experimentalists, and a dreamy melodicism sure to endear it to indie-pop fans.
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What gives this record its internal order, and makes it stand out over previous laptop explorations of immense record collections, is the simplicity of the other genres that he dabbles and draws upon to flesh out the beat.
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Although Rounds isn't quite the jaw-dropping masterpiece that Manitoba's Up in Flames is, and despite the fact that the album lags on the meandering "And They All Look Broken Hearted", it's still a remarkable record, one that, like the work of Dan Snaith, gives a usually stale musical genre a undeniably human feel.
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UncutIt's the freshest, most exciting and far-reaching left-field album in years. [Jun 2003, p.102]
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Q MagazineThis is maverick electronica without the headaches. [Jul 2003, p.103]
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Soul music full of remarkable sonic ideas.
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Rolling StoneRounds is almost accidentally poignant--it's like hearing shattered transmissions of sentimental old music. [15 May 2003, p.134]
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Under The RadarOne of the essential electronic platters of the year. [#5, p.106]
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A trove of bewitching melody and subtle invention, Rounds succeeds not only as a meticulously conceived piece of art but also as a moving expression of human warmth.
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SpinRounds is a more varied trip, with a darker vibe suggesting the influence of Hebden's labelmate Dan Snaith of Manitoba. [Aug 2003, p.118]
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Alternative PressConsists entirely of samples yet sounds as organic as a 1960 Impulse! LP, largely because Hebden broadens his instrumental palette, fattens his beats and even gets cinematic. [June 2003, p.109]
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Now, rather than trying to replay his roots and influences, he’s incorporating them as threads in the in the tapestry of his own rich, distinctly beautiful sound.
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The WireAs Four Tet, Hebden has devised a musical identity that is distinctly different from his work with Fridge, but both projects share a passion for defying boundaries. [#231, p.60]
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MagnetWith Rounds, Hebden has found the secret meeting place for man and machine; he uses his cunning to exploit it and all of its startling possibilities. [#59, p.94]
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BlenderHebden treats software as a rocky road to hummable compositions of seductively intricate invention. [#17, p.135]
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Squeaky genius.
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You may not get to sing along, but this is not ambient music; it is immersive and involving.
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Rounds is a perfect mix of subdued chill-out music and up-tempo beats.
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UrbSimultaneously builds and deconstructs the strides made with Pause, resulting in an even more organic blend of quiet but muscular compositions. [Jun 2003, p.93]
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A beautiful, engaging, enchanting record.
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Rounds contains a new underlying sonic scrape that is brisk and windy and distinctly more dynamic than Hebden's previous, more placid outings, but the signature dense soul of his work is the same.
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Sensitive ones will fall in love instantly; Fat Beats futurists might wait for the Jay Dee remix due later this year.
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Rather than lose control of his programmed loops, Hebden sounds completely in control, the conductor of an invisible digital orchestra, changing gears on a whim.
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If you've liked any of his previous work, you won't go wrong here.
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An album that's both effortlessly confident of its sound and monumentally fearless of introducing cohesive surprises.
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Charming, civilized, childish, Kieran Hebden imagines an aural space in which electronic malfunction is cute rather than annoying or ominous.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 38 out of 46
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Mixed: 5 out of 46
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Negative: 3 out of 46
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GerardJAug 1, 2007Beautiful. Do I need to say more?
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Dec 20, 2013
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Jul 16, 2013