Squarepusher - Shobaleader One d'Demonstrator
- Written by Kenneth McMurtrie
"Warp stalwart joins forces with RnB-leaning metallers". Yeah, right. That though is apparently the case here as Tom Jenkinson's new album as Squarepusher hits the shops (replete with a one-eyed Jawa on the cover in what could well be the same room The Vaselines were in on their release last month. It wears its oddity on its sleeve).
Big Loada this is not. Sebastian Tellier providing backing tracks for the Cylons is the initial impression on opener 'Plug Me In' as RnB is definitely the order of the day along with vocals vocodered to the hilt. The guitar parts have elements of the sound from And Justice For All ... so that takes care of the Metal rumour too. It is completely devoid of any hooks, but like Tellier's work it manages to be more than elevator music and almost a bit sexy. Track two, 'Laser Rock', is much more expansive and spacier (even a bit YMO-like at points) but ends too soon.
'Into The Blue' is lightweight in comparison to its predecessor but has a hint of winter's approaching chill in it's yearning midst. 'Frisco Wave' manages pretty successfully to evoke the sunny atmosphere and lifestyles portrayed in California soaps from thirty years ago before things get heavier once more on 'Megazine'. It's unclear whether that title's a nod to Judge Dredd but the sound is certainly reminiscent of the Squarepusher of old with the sinuous bassline & solo and the insistent drum track.
'Abstract Lover' returns the listener once again to Tellierville but less inventively than on earlier excursions and is as a result the weakest track of the nine on offer. 'Endless Night' starts off with some excellent funk bass before a jump (that could have been smoother) into thrashed guitars and speed garage drum breaks. After that initial jarring jump however the disparate elements become well melded to make up the most complex offering herein. 'Cryptic Motion' remains aboard the funk train stopping only to take on board some eau de Daft Punk but it's a pretty sweet ride for all that.
The caboose of this particular iron horse comes in the shape of the seven minute 'Maximum Planck'. With plank slang for guitar the clues are there as to how this might go down and indeed for the first three minutes it comes off like a Metal vs. Gabba version of Scott Pilgrim battling the Katayanagi twins until differences are resolved and forces combined. Thereby ends the experiment - and while Shobaleader One d'Demonstrator hasn’t spawned the saviour of contemporary music, it’s at least successfully combined elements capable of doing so.
