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British born Tom Jenkinson, otherwise known as Squarepusher, is much more than your average multi-instrument wielding electronica whiz. Over the past decade the said LSD merchant has towed fans through eleven albums of innovative brilliance, and the latest is sure to wrap up the dozen in a similar manner. Just A Souvenir has just been released on Warp and is truly unlike anything his long term devoted faction will have witnessed before.
The opening two tracks Star Time 2 and The Coathanger are as beguiling as anything you’re likely to hear on the electro scene this year, with exuberant clavichord and synth grooved jingles that loiter on the mind for days. The album then develops a more minimal edge with simple digital rhythms, slap bass and perforated guitar outbursts. The middle section turns undeniably punk-like and then mellows down significantly into unperturbed electro jazz and finally concludes on a beautifully ambient acoustic plateau.
The minimal use of vocals on this album turns the listeners focus to the production component. Unlike previous releases, Squarepusher has clearly got his buffer out. The production is almost overly refined in places and there are remarkably few sporadic glitches, which have become so commonplace in previous affairs. It would almost be easy to criticise this album for that reason alone as at times, the sequencing is, unusually, a little too symmetrical.
This is however no reason to be concerned as, where it may lack the untreated complexity of its predecessors, it does offer incessant variety and shows outstanding progression throughout. It develops like a Vivaldi daydream yet forms a novel boundary between modern digital recess and decades of experimental rock.
The contrast in style between the opening episode and the climax is absorbing and after a few plays the essence of Jenkinson’s deep-rooted guitar capabilities is gradually disclosed. His work on both bass and that renowned custom 6-string is flawless and he slides through fretless benders into enchantingly well picked funk riffs with distinctive flare.
As a whole Just A Souvenir deviates through more of an organic future jazz orientated vibe than the unpredictable Amen abusing electronic mayhem that I for one have come to know and love in Squarepusher. At only forty-five minutes in total the album is undoubtedly a little brief, but, and I may be repeating myself here, it does pack a seriously quality punch from such an array of genres. The work ends in such a brilliantly relaxed fashion that you almost have to hit play again to remind yourself of how upbeat the beginning was.
All in all it’s more classic stuff from an ever-evolving multi-talented draughtsman who continues to mesmerise the masses well into his second decade on the scene.
barksdale says...
Spot on, great record