Customer Reviews

Fear of Fours

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

'Lamb' burst onto the scene in 1996 when their self-titled album was released. Not only was it a brilliant album, but it establised Lamb (love the name!) as one of the best drum and bass/ trip-hop outfits around today. Their second album 'Fear of Fours' takes a slight departure from the first, with the songs sounding edgier in some instances and the beats more creative. There is a strong jazz-type influence on the album with numerous songs containing old jazz samples, as well as featuring a killer double bass. Vocally, the lead singer Lou sounds more distorted and eerie this time round, which contrasts to the melancholic sound of the first album. Nevertheless, her voice features brilliantly on tracks such as 'B Line', 'Lullaby' and 'Fly'. Argubly the best track on the album is 'B Line', as it incorporates numerous 'sounds' and 'noises' which totally enraptures you into the music. The double bass adds a real sense of sophistication and progression, and the pulsating chorus is simply brilliant.

Moreover, this is a most satisifactory second album, and it gets all the more better every time you listen to it.

I suppose I'd consider myself a big trip-hopper. I've got Hoverphonic, Morcheeba, Massive Attack, Portishead, etc. (to name the more popular ones.)And I search Amazon a lot, yet this is the FIRST CD that I truly feel compelled to write a review about. I really really enjoyed Lamb's first CD, mostly because it took deep patience to listen a few times and then I was suddenly struck with the brilliance. The songs seemed to be layered- with only the vocals to unify the chaos. I like "Fear of Fours" even more, and this really surprised me. (Ya know, all that junk about Sophomore attempts and what-not.) Yet this CD is "better" in a sense. It is less chaotic. Not that the intense vocals and background aren't there, it is there but this CD feels more enchanting. It is more up-beat it feels more jungle than trip-hop. (AND I really hate labels..) I think this CD is "Scenic" because when I listen I can feel the music and hear her lyrics (which are rather good, and this fact throws the CD from a mere 4.5 to the 5 stars) but I can "see" the music too. It's as if all of my senses are being bombarded.

I wouldn't say that this was any easier to listen to. Similar to their first, I listened a bit distracted. And by the second time through, I heard the talent but wasn't quite sure if it was "A" material. (I grade my CDs, and I'm a pretty tough grader.) Well, several listens later, I assure you, it's an "A". This is not like Portishead. I understand how the comparisons come about, and I really have to disagree. "Portishead on acid" or something seems to be what everyone wants to get at. Lamb is truly original, on their own. Let's reverse it, can Portishead get Lamb comparisons? That seems unfair, and it's unfair because it is simply untrue. Melt with this CD, there is enough intoxicating depth and sultry moods to last several spins later....

I was fortunate enough to see Lamb in concert in Seattle a few years ago during one of their tours. I was truely amazed at the quality of the singing and the incredible sound of their music. I immediately purchased their CD and became an instant fan.

I purchased fear of fours hoping for the same type of sound. The music is really incredible... it has the same incredible beats, the same modern sound... but something was missing. Some songs sound as through the vocal have been distorted. Rather than the beautiful soft voice that was in the debut album, the lead vocalists voice sounds shrill and harsh. It's too bad, because her voice was so absolutely beautiful and pure in the first album.

So... if you want a Lamb album, I recommend their first. This one just doesn't have the same musical quality.

What could I say other that tis is a wonderful album? Ohh yea, a little spoiler:

There is a hidden track on this CD. At the start of the first track, start rewinding. It's a track 00. I got this strait from Andy Barlow at a CD signing. Too Cool!

I am not anti lamb at all really. Seriously I think the producer of the music has made some decent tracks and some of the vocals do fit well, and from the reviews I do intend to give the first lamb album a try as well, but I find the vocals on quite a few songs to be annoying, and the lyrics to be quite unimaginative as well. The portishead comparisons are in my opinion completly off, It sounds more like Ruby to me with out the evil sexy lyrics. Also The vocals alot of times sound like they where written after the songs, specially in the heavy Drum n bass type tracks. When the stuff comes together correctly Its pretty good music worthy of interestes, but I can't give an album that in my opinion has "horrid" songs anything above an 3, since I like to sit back and be able to listen to something without getting straigh annoyed at a really bad song.

*****There is another version with a Bonus disk floating around that doesn't seem to get mentioned very decently here as well it contains some hella great mixes of mostly first album songs, and got me into kruder and dorfmeister, and the global communication mix is godly.

Here is the track list.

1. B-line (andy votel mix) 2. Gorecki(global communication mix) 3. cottonwoll (filia brazilamix) 4. transfatty acid (kruder and dorfmeister)5. gold (hipoptomistic alchemy mix)

Andy Barlow and Louise Rhodes continue exploring interesting soundscapes after their intriguing self-titled debut. While not as risky and adventurous as that album, "Fear of Fours" still brings something new and provides a rich listening experience. In fact, it`s probably the duo`s best record to date, offering a strong and creative mix of trip-hop, drum n`bass, downtempo and electronica. Louise`s voice sounds a little weird at first, but after a couple of songs it doesn`t matter much since these compositions are always absorving and engaging, setting an unique and futuristic mood. There's a lot of good stuff to find here, like the heartfelt-but-not-corny ballad "Softly", the strange and addictive "Fly", the smooth instrumental "Five" or the epic "Bonfire". It expertly mixes light and darkness, the emotional and the mechanical, providing a fresh and original record that deserves more recognition. This gives "pop" a good name.

I went home with Fear of Fours the day it came out and fell in love with it instantly. From the first vocal track, "Little Things," I was hooked in. I find this follow-up album a bit more musically developed than their debut. I did anxiously catch their recent Boston show and was just floored by the sound! After seeing them live, I find I hear more of the layers on the actual CD; It's all in there. Anthemic tracks like, "All in your Hands" and "Fly" really lift the sound off the ground, while the music and beats remain subversive and dark as ever. On an intimate level, there is the gorgously haunting "Five" and the almost bitter love song, "Lullaby." There is drum & bass, acid jazz, big beat, but all with a unique twist that is truly LAMB.

I was reluctant to buy this cd, but am SO glad that I did! I was worried about the vocals (I'm very picky about vocals), but Louise Rhodes has an amazing voice! I'm going out on a limb here, but I would rather listen to this than Portishead any day! Rhodes is more Billie Holliday and much less whiney, as I tend to think Beth Gibbons can be.

As for the music itself - it is very *complete*. I never felt like it was missing something or had too much of anything either, if that makes any sense.

In the past few days I have literally bought about a dozen cds in the 'triphop' category and this is the only one I immedietely played a second time after first listening to it.

Buy this cd, you will not be disappointed.

I first heard about this group on a local radio station, the group's name was not mentioned since I was listening to the station's "Extended Trip" show: they play 3 hours of chill-out or Acid Jazz music with no commercials. When I heard the Filla Brazilla mix of Cottonwool, I was hooked from that point (on Lamb and Filla Brazilla) after a week of research led me to the groups name.

I like this CD alot more than their previous one (where Cottonwool comes from). This is a mixed bag of different styled tunes to suit a wide variety of tastes. My favorite is the one that does not feature the lead singer's vocals, the one that starts off slow, featuring the trumpet. One of the greatest tunes ever.

By the way, I like her voice, she could be ALOT worse = Britney (the devil) Spears anyone?

I recently started hunting down any and all "Trip-Hop" inspired music and I am not quite sure how I came across Lamb, (probably thanks to Amazons suggestions) but I love this album as well as their newest "What Sound". Please if you enjoy smooth vocals and trippy hypnotic tunes then check this out!!!