Vladislav Delay – The Four Quarters

SASU THIS MASTERPIECE NEEDS A VINYL RELEASE (eight nine ten)

I really like the third part of the fourth quarter, if you divide this quarter in three. Definitely four for my floor.

When will we get a vinyl release of this beast!?

All music is different, but this album is unique on its own level. Really unlike any composition I have heard; things are moving around in different directions quickly and all at once. Elements change tempo and texture, yet surprisingly I find it to be very listenable. It goes against many of my own notions of how tracks should be formed, but that is really the best part about it.

'The Four Corners' totally shatters expectations and remains strangely enjoyable. The album flows as one large improvisation; tracks will start to form and then be redirected on a whim. Some areas are rough and bumpy, while other patches are totally chill ambient. Other times I find myself trying to remember what album I am listening to, as if there are so many sound segments it becomes impossible to remember and recognize a specific point in the album. Indeed this fleeting quality has some beauty in it.

I was a bit disappointed by Demo(n) Tracks, Delay's previous release; it seemed like more of the same old Delay rehashing the same old sounds that characterized his Chain Reaction releases. Thus, upon hearing The Four Quarters, I was pleased to hear him escape from the vibrant yet cold, almost claustrophobic sound and embrace a similarly stripped-down, engaging but overall warmer sound. The Four Quarters is every bit as lush as his previous releases, but this release evokes a coziness thus far exhibited by Delay.

Highlights include the entire first track, which bounces & shambles like a pleasantly intoxicated, mellow fellow stumbling around a martini bar.