The Raid On Squarepusher Hills Continues

Big Loada winds up what I think of as early Squarepusher - his career is long enough that there are distinct regimes in it. Big Loada is a lot like Hard Normal Daddy, with a lot of acid, breaks, and melody front and centre. A very enjoyable outing.
It's still weird to think that Trent Reznor's label relased it in North America...

Post Big Loada, something happened in the realm of Tom Jenkinson.
Music Is Rotted One Note is a pretty strong departure from his previous work. Whereas before, the jazz in his music was the sort of lite Weather Report kind of fusion, and it shared the stage with his other influences, Music Is Rotted is much more of a Bitches Brew kind of jazz, and aside from some masterful use of reverb ala King Tubby, this smokey, atmospheric fusion dominates the album. This is perhaps the most surprising album in Tom's catalogue, and, aside from the two EPs that followed, it is unique in its single-mindedness. If you like SP for the breaks, you can probably skip this one, although you would be robbing yourself.
The two EPs, Budakhan Mindphone and Maximum Priest are, together, like a second installment of Music Is Rotted... BM is better on the whole, more of the same ideas, but not B-side material. The new tracks on MP are good, but the remixes at the end don't really do anything.

Ever since Music Is Rotted, it seems that every SP release has included his efforts to truly integrate the fusion techniques of that album with his love of DnB, acid, etc.

Selection 16 is a schizophrenic album, in that it has some great acid tracks (e.g., Time Borb, Tomorrow World) interspersed with what has (unkindly) been called 'jazzy noodlings' or something to that effect. It's not a cohesive album, by any stretch of the imagination, and not a highlight of SP, but there are some fantastic tracks on it. The bonus 4 tracks are largely forgettable (some odds and ends plus a Ceefax Acid Crew remix - it must be hard being Tom's brother).

Go Plastic is the return to Amen. Aside from Red Hot Car, a great pop/2-step track, this album is a monochromatic outing, featuring some of the most intimidating drum programming I've heard. Lots of breaks, classic samples, dub effects effects effects , bass-through-a-ringmod, and all out noise. The hard thing about the album is that you'll miss a lot if you're not listening closely. I used to play this guy at work, I don't quite know how I got away with that.

Do You Know Squarepusher - kind of an identity crisis? 2 discs, one which is 30 minutes w/ 7 tracks, and a live CD. The title track is a fantastic slice of pop, there's a bit of 'I can sound like Autechre', a bit of 'Look kids! 300 BPM', a 'rap' track (for want of a better word), a 9 minute ambient piece, and a cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart which is done completely straight. Live CD is completely forgettable. Think selections from this album and Go Plastic with more reverb than usual.

I think of that as the Mid Period Squarepusher, encompassing an album that put him on a higher pedestal than the one he was already on, followed by a period of 'where now' soul searching which had some great stuff, and some not so great stuff.

Next up - the once and future SP.