A couple of old friends get their pre-university band back together and attempt to summon the old magic again. It works so rarely, but of course, there are few bands that showed as much talent as
Fridge. When
Kieran Hebden began producing as
Four Tet, and
Adem Ilhan followed with his first record as
Adem, it appeared that
Fridge would go down in history as the genesis for at least two solid producers, but never rise again. Serious fans recognized this as a potential tragedy, but it really took another
Fridge record, like
The Sun, to realize how much the group possessed beyond merely three individuals. Unlike
Hebden's
Four Tet records,
The Sun isn't immediately striking; the first track is forceful, but it comes and goes without much more than some drum-heavy noodlings. It's not until second track "Clocks" crests after nearly five minutes that it becomes clear something special is going on.
Four Tet was responsible for some incredible hooks but few accomplishments of form;
The Sun is one of the best-structured instrumental rock albums since
Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die, and perhaps a more significant achievement since there's (slightly) less post-production involved. "Oram" is a masterpiece, opening with an all-out apocalypse of drums, guitar, and bells but slowly, gloriously acquiring a steady groove from
Sam Jeffers' rhythm work. ~ John Bush