- An introverted follow-up to Kieran Hebden's recent party-ready bangers.
- Kieran Hebden's last single, May’s massive "Looking At Your Pager," leaned into a sound so massive and festival-friendly that it could've passed for the more refined younger sibling of Jamie XX’s "Idontknow." So the early-'00s stylings that course through his new track "Scythe Master"—which arrives as part of the new Eat Your Own Ears compilation—come as a bit of a surprise.
Centered on a lopsided, not-quite-garage beat, mysterious koto-like melodies shimmer and morph over the course of its eight minute runtime. Sonically, "Scythe Master" dwells in the grey area between Hebden's muted Burial collaboration "Moth" and his earthy co-production on Madlib's Sound Ancestors. Over the past decade, Hebden has become as much a big-tent festival mainstay as he is a leftfield electronic virtuoso, and "Scythe Master" is something of a return to form for that second side of the legendary producer. It's one of those increasingly rare tracks to emerge from the Four Tet universe that could perfectly soundtrack a rainy day walk at dusk