- After a period of hodgepodge releases, 20-minute songs and unexpected collaborations, it looks like normalcy is returning to Kieran Hebden's world. Last month, he shared a new track ahead of an upcoming album. Called "Two Thousand And Seventeen," it was a fashionably new age instrumental that channeled the feeling of a tough year with affecting results. Hebden returns to the dance floor with "Planet," an understated house track also made with gossamer synths and sparkling strings.
Hebden recently reissued his breakthrough dance music album, There Is Love In You, along with its more exploratory cousin, Ringer. "Planet"'s vocals and hushed atmosphere recall that era of Four Tet, though they feel too easy. The plucked string lead dazzles when it enters, but the melody meanders while the drums plod underneath, making the track feel aimless. Between barely there chords and vocals, Hebden piles on other elements—more synths, a noodling bassline—that only add to the feeling of treading water. Pretty on the surface but lacking tension, "Planet" finds a crossover producer stuck in the middle of the road.