123. Four Tet - Rounds (2003)

Four Tet are usually thrown in the "electronica" bin, but that makes no sense to me because this stuff sounds closer to a more melodic and less improvisatory Tortoise: the emphasis here is on live instrumentation and songwriting and less on "exploration". I love this album. I think it's gorgeous. Kieran Hebden seems to have built a career on expanding the prepared piano sound Aphex Twin got into on Drukqs, and the whole thing is easily recognizable as a single style but there are enough variations on it that it never becomes boring. There are so many highlights here--the languid "Unspoken", the frantic "Spirit Fingers" and of course "Slow Jam", which features one of the greatest instrumental melodies of the decade. What really brings this album over the top is the rejection of length: most instrumental records are way too long, the artists apparently laboring under the delusion that eschewing vocals and a normal pop-song structure gives them free reign to let their songs run for eight minutes under the same repetitive pattern. There's only one track on this album that goes over 8, and the majority are between four and five--these are short tracks, comparatively, and each does its business and gets out. I'd be more willing to classify this as jazz than anything else--but it's a new kind of jazz, one just as technically proficient but one that focuses on emotional and melodic connection instead of endless instrumental wanking: a Marquee Moon to most jazz's Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. Beautiful.

MY RATING: 9.2

Four Tet - "Slow Jam"

173. Herbert - Bodily Functions (2001)

Herbert's previous album Around the House is still widely respected by many, but I don't care much for it; it doesn't add anything new to the microhouse genre, and aside from the central conceit (sounds created from normal household objects) there isn't a whole lot to latch onto. This one is a huge improvement, both because Herbert has increased his partner Dani Siciliano's presence on the tracks and constructed the songs according to a more traditional verse-chorus structure, which in the world of techno is fairly revolutionary. Even if you think you don't like repetitive electronic music, I'd strongly urge you to try this one out: it's songs! Many of the melodies are obscenely catchy and it's pretty amazing how Herbert is able to absorb smooth-jazz influences without falling into stupid "smooth jams" kitsch. I personally think that Herbert's tradition of choosing a new "concept" for each record (this one: sounds made by the human body) is pretty gimmicky, but as long as it isn't distracting it doesn't matter much, and it isn't distracting at all here. It's like the best, most atmospheric smooth jazz updated with electronic backing: the two dovetail so well with each other it's as though they were never separate.  One track "I Know" is even a straight-up jazz track! A combination of 40s smoky jazz/torch songs and techno: it shouldn't work, but it does, and it's one of the most original and beguiling things made in the decade.

MY RATING: 8.5

Herbert - "Addiction"