Fear of Fours

Fear of Fours
Studio album by Lamb
Released	17 May 1999 (1999-05-17)
Studio	The Toyshop (Manchester) Townhouse (London)
Genre	Trip hop[1]
Length	55:22
Label	Fontana Mercury
Producer	Lamb
Lamb chronology
Lamb (1996) Fear of Fours (1999) What Sound (2001)
Singles from Fear of Fours
"B Line" Released: 22 March 1999[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]

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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	B[7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
Melody Maker	[9]
Mixmag	4/5[10]
Muzik	[11]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[1]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
0.	"Lullaby" (CD pregap hidden track)	Barlow Rhodes Jon Thorne	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]

• "Bonfire" contains samples of C. P. E. Bach: Cello Concertos.
• "Ear Parcel" contains samples of "How High the Moon", performed by Charlie Parker.

Personnel

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

Lamb

• Andy Barlow – performance, brass arrangements (track 5)
• Lou Rhodes – performance

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

• Jim Abbiss – mixing (track 11)
• Andy Barlow – mixing (tracks 6, 13)
• Ian Carmichael – engineering, mixing (tracks 6, 10, 13)
• Alan Douglas – recording (tracks 5, 7, 14)
• Jared Hawkins – mixing (assistance)
• Lamb – production
• Al Stone – mixing

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

References

1. 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. 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. Fear of Fours (liner notes). Lamb. Fontana Records. 1999. baacd2 / 558 821-2.
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.

External links

• Fear of Fours at Discogs (list of releases)