Three (Four Tet album)

After the release of two solo albums in 2020, the musician collaborated with other artists, including Madlib, Skrillex and Fred Again, and finished a legal battle with the Domino Recording Company. Returning to solo endeavours, Hebden released the lead single "Three Drums" on 27 April 2023. The opening track "Loved" was released on 10 January 2024. Hebden announced Three on 14 February, and released "Daydream Repeat". Three was released on 15 March through Text Records, Hebden's label. In promotion of the record, Hebden hosted the "Four Tet & Friends" event in New York on 4–5 May with performances from Floating Points, Ben UFO, and others. ==Composition==

Three is house, downtempo, and electronica. The album uses many tempos, and keeps a "similarly ruminative mood". The opening track "Loved" features a breakbeat with "sun-seeking tendrils of synth", and contains elements from hip-hop. It utilises shakers, vinyl crackle, and white noise. The track ends with a "gentle ambient outro". The track was produced with a synthesiser gifted by collaborators Floating Points and Dan Snaith. "Gliding Through Everything" contains "glittering ambience", and uses bells and chimes. "Storm Crystals" has a slowed-down breakbeat and a synth for the melody. "Daydream Repeat" uses a guitar with noise alongside a microhouse beat, and fades into a harp. "Skater" is inspired by shoegaze and utilises sub-bass sounds with light drums. It also uses female vocals that "pull the tune away from the darker impulses implied at the beginning". "31 Bloom" is minimal techno, and is similar to Hebden's Ringer (2008). "So Blue" opens with an ambient sound that is broken by a tone with reverb. The albums ends with "Three Drums", and contains "a wall of electronic noise" supported by a "laid back beat" and a hint of "early 90s hip-hop". It opens with a drum loop and a synthesiser, and later adds string instruments, flutes, and distortion. The track closes with a vocal loop. ==Reception==

Three received positive reviews from critics. Reid BG of Resident Advisor said that the album "looks backwards and forwards at the same time", and that "one could make the mistake that Hebden's best years are behind him". The album appeared in AllMusic's list of favourite electronic albums from 2024. "Loved" appeared in Pitchfork list of the best electronic music, and ranked 51th in its list of the best songs, in which both are year-end lists. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from Bandcamp. • Kieran Hebden – writer, producer • Jason Evans – photography, design • Matthew Cooper – design ==Charts==