.com With a clutch of album releases under his belt and a growing reputation, it seems a little strange that Tom Jenkins still feels obliged to include a lengthy synopsis of his musical standpoint in relation to popular culture (hence Do You Know Squarepusher). Maybe this is the result of a bad review or confused audience feedback, or maybe it was simply about that time when justification was finally met. Logically, it follows that the musical template remains a hallmarked cacophony of splintered beats and fractured sonics that find an aggressive medium of balancing melody in and around contorted backdrops. Lyrically, it's a pastiche, with "F-Train" coming across as the Streets played off and out by the Anti-Pop Consortium. Not a particularly comfortable thought, but then, Squarepusher doesn't necessarily do easy listening. The closest to that comes on the latter half of the album ("Mutilation Colony"), where the beats are dropped in favor of soundscaping, which again combines abstract parts (akin to Carlos and Richter), but still finds a path for more accessible pieces, too. Rounded off with a passable version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," it's another astute album with a hint of aging and acceptance. --Found Sounds
C**T
Four Stars
Love squarepusher
C**D
it's a concept album
This album travels from one end of the IDM spectrum to the other: pop->punk->experimental->Joy Division. Well, the joy division part was just the statement of intent. This album is great music throughout, but it is only one song of each style, so it leaves you wanting more. Kind of a death by diversity. Regardless, this album's point has been well proven by the comments of the audience. Love ~will~ tear us apart. The pop heads all love the first song, (which sort of demonstrates through the constantly shifting DnB styles, the fact that the beat style doesn't change the song that much at all. it kind of steps on the hands of the jenre wh0res out there who think that "tech step is far supreior to dark step or two step or blah blah blah.") but they hate "all that noise [stuff] at the end." On the other side, the experimental freaks all turn their noses up at the poppier songs as being sonically uncreative and overly commercial. As for the Joy Division cover, it seems like no one understood that. oh well.As music, DYKS is an interesting tour of the scene, and as art, it is the most poigniant work to date. This album is for music lovers, not trendiods with limited tastes. :-pIt *was* still too damn short, and the live disk *was* an insult. Don't pay [too much]. :-)
"**"
Critics Are Silly Little Pieces of...
The guy who reviewed this album at Pitchforkmedia is so so very wrong, I'm sorry, that's just my opinion, but I have to admit it -- Squarepusher is miles ahead of the pack. Nothing, really, to my ear, rivals the playfulness, complexity, and vitality of Jenkinson's work.So: reviewers (me included) begone! Ultimately, Jenkinson has to make Squarepusher for himself, and if what he's done satisfies him, then he's succeeded on the most important level. The challenges or qualities of the album will inevitably find its listeners, and if the album proves itself to be amazing, then many people will listen to the album. ...My own opinion on this record is that it is short. Perfectly short. I wouldn't want it to be longer. Last year's Go Plastic will probably be seen as one of the greatest electronic albums of all time -- it is incredibly dense, complicated, hilarious, and fully energetic, it is beyond the scope of so many artists working today that it boggles the mind, a work of pure imaginative genius -- and so I didn't want Squarepusher to release another full album too soon. I still want to savor Go Plastic.In a sense Do you Know is not actually an album, but a selection of musical foods that Jenkinson has eaten. This is a bolus of various styles, digested and turned into Squarepusher lumps. The effect is an examination of the various influences Jenkinson has seen on his music. It's like a cover record (and as a clue to that goal, ends with a very real cover of a Joy Division song). From Dj Scud to Stockhausen to Joy Division, here are Squarepusher's influences given the intense scissor cut attack he has perfected. It is a wonderful mini-album to accompany the grand overture that was Go Plastic, and shares many of its superior qualities. The wonderful thing about Jenkinson is that he never looks back, but continues to learn from his own glitches and audio graffs.Ironically, the second disc is a live album recorded last year, and it is cool, but maybe not as cool as actually seeing him, but a good taster of what it would have been like to see him that year. The name, Alive in Japan, is a bit of a joke, because Jenkinson suddenly disappeared from his N American tour with Plaid in 2001 and no one seemed to know exactly what happened. He was supposed to play a whole bunch of shows, but he was nowhere to be found. People thought he was sick, or dead, or just a jerk. Apparently, he went to Japan and kicked it there instead. Oh well.
A**R
Do you?
I think squarepusher has probably gone insane. From rumours of going deaf, to owning a new unnamed label with Aphex Twin. To releasing jazzy drill n bass to pure fusion jazz to hardcore noisy drill n bass. And he pulls it off fantastically! but I wonder if tom jenkinson even knows squarepusher anymore... this album is all over the place...first track is the future of pop songs gone beserk, second is the new autechre type beat with tom rapping (not very well imo) over it. more drill n bass insanity follows until we get to a long dark ambient track and a beautiful finish up with a beautiful cover song you might not recognize (i didn't)...I wish the album had stuck in more of the same direction throughout but individually...each song stands on its own very, very well...(with the exception of track 2...sorry Tom you just can't rap, next time get Kool Keith!) Buy it now, manijelro
U**S
Warp keeps its street cred.
This album blows my mind thinking about how much time it must have taken to program this music. This is certianly not a loop album. The track Kill Robok will make you go mad trying to keep up with it. The sounds are all over the place, you think you ears are going to start bleeding, it's freaking wonderful. The topper on this album is the very well done cover of the Joy Division classic, "love will tear us apart". They drop the sampler and pick up the guitar and bass and pay tribute to one of the greatest mellon-collie songs of all time.The only bad things I can say about this album is that it is a little on the short side but luckly, they include a bonus CD "alive from japan" to make up for that.
E**Y
wicked album from tha pusher...
Squarepusher usually delivers the goods with his releases, with the exception of 'Maximum Priest' and maybe 'Selection Sixteen'. Track one, 'Do You Know Squarepusher', is sick. I mean I just got this cd, but I honestly think that it is one of his best tracks to date. Really only one thing keeping this album from gettin 5 stars from me....it is only 32 minutes long. Yeah it's got the bonus live material, but I don't know how often I'll be listening to that. Really the only live electronic album I have ever truly loved is the Orb's live album. Although I could see some serious anti-social, gear head types getting into the live material. Basically this album is good, but not as good as 'Feed me...', 'Go Plastic', or 'Hard Normal..' Still I have to admit, it is a must buy for fans.
N**C
IDM master
Just awesome. Squarepusher was and is a pioneer of IDM. Described by Aphex Twin as the sound of sound.
N**A
Squarepusheristische Methodologie
Der Big Daddy des drill'n'bass ist zurück, mit einem DOPPELALBUM - wenn es genehm ist. Während sich die Chemical und/oder Aphex schon wieder schwertun sich nicht zuwiederholen und vom neuen Prodigy Album nichts wesentliches mehr zu erwarten ist, bleibt Tom Jenkinson Meister eines Fachs, das er mit linker Hand erfunden hat und von den meistens mit Referenzen an "ein, die Treppe herunterfallendes, Drum Set" umschrieben wird. Ein Vergleich mit anderen Musikschaffenden hinkt da also, so oder so.Alles zu mischen was die zeitgenössische Musik, wie sie Stockhausen, John Cage und Steve Reich geprägt haben, hergibt ist schlichtweg DIE Stärke von Squarepusher, auf die sogar Tante Björk leicht neidisch rüberschielt. Und dabei kommt auch der Spaß nicht zu kurz, denn ganz und gar ernst sollte man Jenkinson nie nehmen, besonders hörbar, für mich, auf Music Is Rotted One Note, bei der ich echte erheiternde Momente erlebte - zu erkennen (zu glauben) welches oder wessen Konzept er da gerade durch den Kakao zieht ist einfach eine Freude für sich. Nichtsdestotrotz ist sein Konzept wohl konstruiert und virtuos produziert. Balancierend zwischen den mechanischen aspekten heutiger electronischer (Tanz)Musik und der Freiheit des Jazz lenkt er sein Spiel mit akustischer Destruktion wohin er auch immer will und seine Fans werden nur nach mehr fragen - manchmal kann man sich halt auf seine Idole verlassen!!!Jenkinsons neuer Opus DO YOU KNOW SQUAREPUSHER ist eigentlich ein Minialbum das gerade mal 30 Minuten und sieben Tracks auf die Waage bringt. Hielt der Meister sich bisher stimmlich arg bedeckt so greift er hier kräftig zum Mikrophon und es funktioniert. Die Effekte die er seiner Stimme zufügt lassen mitunter schwer dem Hörfluss folgen aber nach einer hörerseitigen Adaption an die akustischen Geschehnisse wird erkennbar, daß der Textfluss ebenso exakt und qualitativ hochwertig ist wie die musikalische Konstruktion. Um wieder auf die Konzeption zurückzukommen, so spielt Jenkinson bei MUTILATION COLONY mit Sprache, Musique Concrète und erodierenden Dissonanzen und kreiert ein abstractes akustisches Gedicht in drei Teilen, im ersten Exposition, im zweiten oben genannte Erodierung des Klangspektrums zusammen mit dem Einfügen percussiver Dissonanzen und schließlich der Falsifiszierung des gesamten Konzepts im Dritten Teil, sprich: er wirft in den letzten 30 Sekunden alles über den Haufen, - soviel zum Thema Ernsthaftikeit. Das Album schließt mit einer überraschend referenziellen Interpretation von Joy Divisions LOVE WILL TEAR US APART und die Frage lautet: Kennst DU Squarepusher?Die zweite Disc stammt von einem Livekonzert vom Juli 2001 in Japan. Die meisten Stücke stammen von GO PLASTIC in der einen oder anderen erkennbaren Form konzentriert auf die pure Energie in seiner Musik. Wer Jenkinson für eine Stubenhocker aka Studiomusiker hält, sollte scharf nachdenken und wer denkt Squarepusher zu kenn sollte zweimal scharf nachdenken. Dieses Album ist Squarepusheristische Methodologie erster Güteklasse: konzeptionelle Entfaltung, Zerstörung und Neuerfindung auf engstem Raum.Wenn es eine Konstante in Jenkinsons chaotischem Universum geben sollte, dann die das "alles immer anders wird". Und die Frage lautet: Kennst DU Squarepusher?
J**E
Thank you
Great album great group
