Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid - Tongues (Domino)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
'Tongues'. It's confirmation that Kieran Hebden really does have the greatest job in the world. Sure, we lavish praise on him for the excellent and considered music created under the guise of Four Tet, but here he is doing an improvisational record with the equally unimpeachable jazz figurehead Steven Reid - which basically involves the two of them f**king around, often creating noises that sound like someone trying to buzz in to your flat (the amount of times I've gone to check the door whilst writing this review, jeezy creezy...) - and here we are taking them very seriously indeed...
Of course, the reason we don't dismiss this as a big joke at our expense is because they're both very, very good at this improvising lark. This was evidenced on all instalments of the team's 'Exchange Sessions', and is shown to be true once again with 'Tongues'. However, rules concerning the overall aesthetic and structure of the record were applied much more rigidly here. If anything is the duo's pop record, this is what that thing is.
Each composition (not 'song') here deals solely with one single groove, is the product of one momentarily held mindset, the exploration of a solitary emotion, unrelated to what came before or where it might lead. Things aren't allowed to develop in to different ideas; it's about exposing the interesting facets of the music that's currently being made, right there, right then. There is no journey to go on. Brevity, as much as compositional liberty, is the key to 'Tongues'.
Brief, friendly, even pretty, bits of it are actually catchy. 'The Sun Never Sets' for example - you could improvise along with it yourself. Just start humming, and you're there with Steve and Kieran, another part of the piece, a cog in the wheel. Whooshing noises and oddly grating textures rear their heads, but it is otherwise remarkably easy to listen to as a record. The closing 'Left Handed, Left Minded', for example, even borders on chill out (with added glitch and clatter, naturally).
If you think certain bits of it work incredibly well, you're likely to be the kind of person who thinks the whole thing is really something of a joy on the ears. You'll happily tolerate the lot. But if you don't claim to 'get' the opening pair of tunes, or the pair's take on the traditional favourite 'Greensleeves' (albeit nothing like the original - in fact it's barely recognisable), then don't even go near 'Our Time', 'Rhythm Dance' or 'Mirrors'. They might be trying to apply ideas more usually found in pop and rock music to their craft, but this is still very much a decidedly out there jazz record. Consider that a warning as much as it is an incitement to purchase it - you know your taste, react accordingly.
But if the 'Exchange Sessions' got your pulse racing, you might be somewhat taken aback by how... comfortable 'Tongues' sounds. Bits of it could be 'normal' Four Tet compositions, although oddly the drumming on them, despite being the product of a master, sounds more conventional than something you'd hope to find on a record by Hebden's alter ego Four Tet. Sometimes it merely seems as if Reid is laying an albeit very sturdy foundation for Hebden to improvise over, rather than them being an actual improvisational pair. The impression given is very much that Hebden leads it, only because he seems to be making most of the noises, and having the most fun. But that's a guess.
On 'Mirrors' however, Reid shines to the extent that you wish Hebden would just shut up with all his binging and his bonging (though to be fair to him, it's those very bings and bongs that make 'Tongues' so much of a giggle elsewhere). 'The Squid' feels like the most collaborative effort, approximating the place where the two reached the happiest medium. Given the promise it shows, maybe it indeed needed more time to breathe, but such is the nature of 'Tongues', it's given just over four minutes. No messing here.
Conversely, some of even the shorter tracks feel like they drag a little. This is simply because of the rules of 'Tongues' dictating that they're not allowed to develop. Listening to them do thousands of things over a long period of time, we're fine with that. It warrants a longer duration than them just doing one thing, mining one area, for around four minutes. 'Tongues' can feel a bit like a middle ground between the pop record they could make and the truly free ones they already have made. And with that, one begins to ponder what a delicately structured, studiously and rigorously composed LP from these two would sound like. Most likely fantastic...
To close, judging improvised records is a really weird task. You're essentially just judging whether someone had a good day or not. Sure, they had a good time, but were they on form? Despite the bits of 'Tongues' that lag a little, we'd say that yes, yes they were. In fact, the best thing about it is that it's almost as fun to listen to as it must have been to make.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment