Beautiful Rewind

Four Tet - Beautiful Rewind
Critic Score
Based on 21 reviews
2013 Ratings: #247 / 1115
User Score
Based on 146 ratings
2013 Rank: #316
Liked by 8 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

80
DIY

'Beautiful Rewind' is anything but 'There Is Love In You Part II'. At times it’s a strange record. The rough tones don’t register as forcefully as the hooks on previous works. That said, it’s a rewarding listen, one that eventually embeds itself once given full attention. 

80
The Fly

‘Beautiful Rewind’ is the sound of an artist looking to cut loose, and its playful spirit proves catching.

80
SPIN

Beautiful Rewind shows Four Tet shifting toward experimental dance music rather than elegantly crafted, album-length, indie-approved electronica, perhaps never to return. Quickly working 11 tracks into 40 minutes, the album is visceral and unrefined, two qualities not often associated with Hebden.

80
AllMusic

While the album does seem rather patched together with a lack of focus -- it plays out like a pair of distinct EPs and a couple transitional orphans on shuffle -- there's an irrefutable charm to the restlessness.

75
The 405

It's often a difficult album to get into; despite it being rooted in dance music, it's probably the least danceable Four Tet record and probably not your first choice if a friend ever asks you to recommend a Four Tet album to get them started. 

74
Pitchfork

At just over 40 minutes, Beautiful Rewind is an effortless listen, but when it wanders it feels like a bauble, one from an artist from whom we are accustomed to receiving richer gifts. 

70
FACT Magazine

Beautiful Rewind is a Four Tet album, and no matter how grubby it gets, at the heart of it will always be one fact: Four Tet’s forte is making Beautiful Music.

70
Tiny Mix Tapes

Beautiful Rewind isn’t Kieran Hebden’s magnum opus, but it’s an album that succeeds at both moving the listener emotionally and, like much of the producer’s impressive body of work, inspiring him or her to literally and physically move.

58
Pretty Much Amazing

Beautiful Rewind is always keeping us at arm’s length, coldly allowing us to admire the craft without letting us in on the secret. It can make for a lonely listen.

waffles
67

Favorite Tracks: Parallel Jalebi, Kool FM, Crush, Unicorn

LILY69420
70

hi im back i guess????? lets see how long until i get bored of this site. anyways what about this album. well i do like it but it feels a bit weirdly put together, not as intricate as some of his other stuff. your body feels is a great example of this, that song is fucking awful. it sounds like an interlude track that he extended for 4 minutes for no reason. the phrase "the way your body feels" has been burned into my brain. ow! why must you do this hebden. some of the other songs ... read more

Epic_Karl_Gamer
83

Rating all Four Tet releases: #9

Four tet does such an excellent job with this sound. If I were to rate this based on personal opinions, ignoring the somewhat faulty tracks, it would undoubtedly be much higher. However, it falls in place as something like "Graduation" by Kanye, where 1 or 2 tracks are pretty meh, whereas the others are spectacular.
Despite the derivative approach, this album is executed in an exciting way when looking past first glance. You can push it as background ... read more

Deckard
69

This is another four tet release that kind of falls to the wayside for me. It's nice. I like it. But it doesn't draw me in like a lot of his other work.
TOP 3 SONGS: Gong, Parallel Jalebi, Ba Teaches Yoga

waffles
67

Favorite Tracks: Parallel Jalebi, Kool FM, Crush, Unicorn

Epic_Karl_Gamer
83

Rating all Four Tet releases: #9

Four tet does such an excellent job with this sound. If I were to rate this based on personal opinions, ignoring the somewhat faulty tracks, it would undoubtedly be much higher. However, it falls in place as something like "Graduation" by Kanye, where 1 or 2 tracks are pretty meh, whereas the others are spectacular.
Despite the derivative approach, this album is executed in an exciting way when looking past first glance. You can push it as background ... read more

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Track List

1Gong
3:15
75
2Parallel Jalebi
3:54
78
3Our Navigation
3:54
73
4Ba Teaches Yoga
3:20
100
5Kool FM
5:09
80
6Crush
2:26
70
7Buchla
4:12
100
8Aerial
5:57
86
9Ever Never
0:32
55
10Unicorn
3:31
69
11Your Body Feels
4:04
66
Total Length: 40 minutes

Year End Lists

#11/Bleep
#22/Clash
#22/The Fly
#30/Urban Outfitters
#32/Crack Magazine
#100/Rough Trade
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Added on: October 2, 2013