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Squarepusher plays electronic music, and there's no contradiction in that statement because with him, electronics are genuinely "played." Thomas Jeckinson is fundamentally a bassist with a penchant for electronic assaults amid his compositions, and he stands out in the IDM music scene. We're in a musical revolution that sees the coexistence of many different faces of electronics (there's been a lot of talk about "electronic music to listen to, not to dance to"), and it's right here that he makes his mark with his anomalies (both musical and stylistic). I find interesting the comparison I read in an article, where Bob Dylan was accused of blasphemy for introducing the electric guitar into his folk style. This concept, in my view, encapsulates the anomaly of Squarepusher, who, with his obsession for jazz and harmonies played directly on the bass (often completely predominant over the more typical stylistic aspects of electronics), has created a decidedly unique, convoluted, and sophisticated style, often moving against the current compared to his peers. His musical duality finds perfect balance in '97 with "Hard Normal Daddy," often leaving listeners (unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your view) perplexed by inexplicable stylistic alternations, which end up almost completely prevailing over one another across entire albums.
1998, the album in question shows no balance between phases. This is a jazz album, period. The electronics used give it just an abstract and avant-garde touch, but they almost represent isolated episodes, leaving behind entirely the rave outbursts and drum'n'bass typical of past episodes. Not long after the album's opening, with "Don't Go Plastic" (a premonitory advice, I suppose, since "Go Plastic" is his electronic-dance styled album released in 2001), it’s easy to grasp a good synthesis of the album: we're very close to the styles of people like Billy Cobham, Weather Report, or (why not?) John McLaughlin. The spirit that permeates the tracks lies in improvisation, in live performance, and Thomas organizes entire jams with himself, playing both electric bass and drums. Here, electronics are merely a means of experimentation, and the body of the album relies (for many, it can be a good thing, for others a bad one) on the jazz spirit from which Squarepusher comes and with which he grew up.
What is missing from his vast music repertoire? The jungle-oriented rhythms, his convoluted drum'n'bass, the occasional noise hint. You can find that with him elsewhere. This album is certainly inspired, but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for those who know nothing about this incredible artist, as it contains material absolutely incomparable to his other works, which in a couple of cases, undoubtedly deserve the label "masterpiece."
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