Squarepusher
Budakhan Mindphone

Understanding what goes through Squarepusher's mind has never been simple. His fusions of electronic sounds - d'n'b combined with jazz influences have always been a topic of discussion among enthusiasts, as there are those who prefer the Pusher as electronic as possible clashing with those who appreciate more when he embraces his electric bass.

Most likely, this album will appeal more to the second type of listeners, as the use of electronics is present but felt in a less exacerbated manner than in other works; the foundations are always played "live” with real drums and not with a drum machine. A type of sound that results in a kind of “futur-jazz", a term I just invented, but it might help you understand that jazz, according to Tom, has changed; changed while maintaining worthy bases of this genre, but with ambient, glitch, and touches of high-class electronic sound.

At the opening, the splendid "Iambric 5 Poetry" immediately transports us to a dreamy and evocative world, with top-notch ambient style, supported by a bass line that in its simplicity is one of the most beautiful he has composed. What a perfect beginning. It continues with "Fly Street", hypnotic just enough without becoming boring, "The Tide" and "Splask" are examples of dark jazz, dark atmospheres where the drums are given free rein with its beats and counter-beats. But the drums take a backseat when we move to "Two Bass Hit", a track whose title (for once!!) says it all. Squarepusher grabs his bass and gives free rein to his improvisation, showing us what he knows. “Varkatope” might be the most electronic track on the album, pleasant in its crescendo. It closes with “Gong Acid”, an experimental track, almost like a concert of drops falling from gutters reproduced through cymbals, dishes, pots, and pans. Honestly, I didn’t see the necessity of it.

Overall, this is an album (EP) that leaves us delicately satisfied with the work of sound and timing research that Tom delights us with; album perhaps among the most linear he has composed, without digressions or unnecessary noises (as in the previous album, for example) and with tracks that do not lose themselves.

Rating: 7