# Fear of Fours

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.

## 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."

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Melody Maker | |
| Mixmag | 4/5 |
| Muzik | |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 7/10 |
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."

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes, except where noted
Sample credits
* "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.
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) | 25 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 61 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 22 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 82 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 37 |
| UK Dance Albums (OCC) | 5 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) | 35 |