Fear of Fours

Last updated

Fear of Fours
Cover-fearoffours.jpg
Studio album by
Lamb
Released17 May 1999 (1999-05-17)
Studio
Genre Trip hop [1]
Length55:22
Label
Producer Lamb
Lamb chronology
Lamb
(1996)		Fear of Fours
(1999)		 What Sound
(2001)
Singles from Fear of Fours
  1. "B Line"
    Released: 22 March 1999 [2]
  2. "All in Your Hands"
    Released: 10 May 1999 [3]

Fear of Fours is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Lamb. It was released on 17 May 1999 by Fontana Records and Mercury Records. [4]

Contents

Background

The title Fear of Fours alludes to the album's avoidance of the four-on-the-floor rhythm commonly used in dance music. Lamb's Andy Barlow later explained, "By the time we came to record Fear of Fours it felt like everything in 4
4 had been done ... I've always liked interesting time signatures. When you're in 7
8, or 3
4 even, you get a loop that you've heard a hundred times before and it can immediately have a different feel to it." [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly B [7]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Melody Maker Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [9]
Mixmag 4/5 [10]
Muzik Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [1]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Spin 7/10 [14]

John Bush of AllMusic said that while Lamb's 1996 eponymous debut album "was practically a revolution in the development of a satisfactory fusion of singer/songwriter vocals and drum'n'bass", Fear of Fours "sets the bar much higher", praising Barlow in particular as "one of the most capable and inventive producers in the electronic community." [6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
0."Lullaby" (CD pregap hidden track)
2:20
1."Soft Mistake" 3:16
2."Little Things" 3:18
3."B Line" 2:46
4.Untitled (hidden track) 0:04
5."All in Your Hands" 4:39
6."Less Than Two" 1:19
7."Bonfire" 4:23
8."Ear Parcel" 7:54
9."Softly"
  • Barlow
  • Rhodes
  • Thorne
3:56
10."Here" 3:22
11."Fly" 5:13
12."Alien" 4:06
13."Five" 5:49
14."Lullaby"
  • Barlow
  • Rhodes
  • Thorne
2:57
Total length:55:22

Sample credits [15]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [15]

Lamb

Additional musicians

  • Nell Catchpole – violin (tracks 5, 7, 14), viola (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • David Clack – horn (track 5)
  • Graham Clarke – violin (track 11)
  • Kevin Davy – trumpet
  • Tanera Dawkins – cello (tracks 5, 7, 14), string arrangements (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Alison Dods – violin (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Alan Gibson – double bass (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Jimi Goodwin – guitar (track 3)
  • Helen Kamminga – viola (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Alice Kinloch – trombone (track 5), sousaphone (track 5)
  • Kathryn Locke – cello (tracks 5, 7, 14), string arrangements (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Ben Park – baritone saxophone (track 5), brass arrangements (track 5)
  • John Rayson – viola (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Cathy Rimer – cello (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Crispin "Spry" Robinson – percussion (track 10)
  • Niroshini Thambar – violin (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Jon Thorne – double bass
  • Matthew Ward – violin (tracks 5, 7, 14)
  • Mikey Wilson – drums
  • Anne Wood – violin (tracks 5, 7, 14)

Production

Design

  • Rich Mulhearn – photography
  • Jeremy Murch – photography
  • Rick Myers – art direction, design

Charts

Chart (1999)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [16] 25
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17] 61
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [18] 22
Scottish Albums (OCC) [19] 82
UK Albums (OCC) [20] 37
UK Dance Albums (OCC) [21] 5
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [22] 35

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References

  1. 1 2 Cooper, Paul. "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "New Releases 22 March 1999 – 28 March 1999: All". Juno Records. Archived from the original on 26 September 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "New Releases 10 May 1999 – 16 May 1999: All". Juno Records. Archived from the original on 27 September 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Paoletta, Michael (26 June 1999). "Lamb Jumps over Genre Barriers with Island Def Jam's 'Fear'". Billboard . Vol. 111, no. 26. pp. 32, 34. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Spencer, Roy (December 2015). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Future Music . No. 299. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Bush, John. "Fear of Fours – Lamb". AllMusic . Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Scherman, Tony (13 August 1999). "Music Review: 'Fear of Fours'". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  8. ↑ Lechner, Ernesto (25 July 1999). "Lamb, 'Fear of Fours,' Mercury". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  9. ↑ Loben, Carl (8 May 1999). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Melody Maker . p. 44.
  10. ↑ Fearn, Rob (May 1999). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Mixmag . Vol. 2, no. 96. p. 147.
  11. ↑ Willmott, Ben (June 1999). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Muzik . No. 49. p. 82.
  12. ↑ Aston, Martin (July 1999). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Q . No. 154. p. 118.
  13. ↑ Stovall, Natasha (2 September 1999). "Lamb: Fear Of Fours". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Micallef, Ken (August 1999). "Lamb: Fear of Fours". Spin . Vol. 15, no. 8. p. 155. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  15. 1 2 Fear of Fours (liner notes). Lamb. Fontana Records. 1999. baacd2 / 558 821-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Lamb – Fear of Fours". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lamb – Fear of Fours" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Lamb – Fear of Fours". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  21. ↑ "Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week . 29 May 1999. p. 18. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Lamb Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 December 2018.


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