This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
I can’t blame you if you don’t know Squarepusher.
First off, the English electronicist — born Tom Jenkinson — is hardly a household name. Secondly, he’s tough to get a handle on musically. Over six albums in as many years, Jenkinson has served up an eclectic menu of styles from jazz to jungle, bop to breakbeat. His latest is another mesmerizing, challenging mixed bag of tricks: Clattering beatbox syncopation, neo-psychedelic textures, android-surf guitars, mood-swing melodies, creepy vibes, the occasional bit of neo-surf rock and plenty of ghostly bad-dream vocals. All of which are used to build elaborate studio-construct altars to the twin gods of ring modulation and oscillator manipulation. That is, when they aren’t delivering a truly haunting cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. And just to let you know he can pull it all off in the real world, this set includes an impressive second disc recorded live in Japan last summer. If you don’t know him yet, now’s the time to introduce yourself to Squarepusher.
