Squarepusher: Just A Souvenir (Warp CD/LP/digital)
Tom Jenkinson has always been somewhat of an enfant terrible when it comes to his specific brand of electronic music. He made a splash in the mid 90s riding the initial fascination with broken beat electronic jazz. Hisformer roommates Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) and Mike Paradinas (µ-Ziq) were sort of partners in crime, each of them playing with frantic drum patterns, sometimes shrill sounds and often twee melodic sensibilities. Jenkinson always was keen to incorporate his masterful electric bass and a much more jazz-oriented approach to composition, even in his most chaotic electronic moments. But after a few albums of that sound, he made some weird left turns; Music Is Rotted One Note boasted no electronic programming whatsoever, sounding more akin to late 60s fusion jazz than anything on the Warp roster at the time, and the series of EPs that followed seemed to find Jenkinson searching for something new without necessarily striking gold. In the years prior to this release, he seems to have become more comfortable in his own strengths as well as unafraid to confront his weaknesses, albeit more obliquely at times. Hello Everything in 2006 was a welcome burst of joy that seemed to finally embrace his technical skill, jazz-like improvisation, sense of humor and knack for melody full-on.
Just a Souvenir is yet another surprise, however. Certainly Jenkinson can't completely outrun his own technical talents or his previous repertoire, but he manages to find a new way to express it here. In his own words, "This album started as a daydream about watching a crazy, beautiful rock band play an ultra-gig." If that isn't the best way to summarize this record, I don't know what is. While the jazzy electronic flirtations of previous albums like Feed Me Weird Things can perhaps be heard in opener "Star Time 2," much of this album sounds like a rock band brimming with curiosity and ideas. His signature bass is in full effect on many of these tracks, but there are also vocals on some tracks (through a vocoder) as well a significant amount of guitar and some live drumming. "Just A Woman" is a straight-up weird rock anthem, while "Planet Gear" (my personal favorite) soars with its descending melodies and guitar riffs. "Delta-V" is as close to math-rock as he's ever gotten, full of erratic time changes and tightly wound rhythm and guitar playing. In fact many of these tracks are Jenkinson's most frenetic to date, not because of the technical absurdity of the programming (1997's Big Loada wins in that department, hands down) but because the raw power of the arrangements, unusual timing, layering of electric over electric over electronic and sense of humor seem to accelerate everything into a different place from his previous efforts.
It should be noted that not everything here is so energetic; there are a few more languid moments to be relished on this release. "Aqueduct" is a meandering acoustic bass track with a few odd electronic flourishes, while "Duotone Moonbeam" is more straightforward jazz, all acoustic. Add in a few more abstract tracks like the woozy "Fluxgate" or the more stark closing piece "Yes Sequitur" and it's a healthy balance to the dizzying, high-energy majority of this album.
Another review I read of this record referred to it as kaleidoscopic - an extremely appropriate reference point, reflected even in the colorful artwork that accompanies it. Everything here seems carefully considered, but Jenkinson also seems to have followed his muse wherever it may take him. These feel extremely well-constructed and as technically accomplished as ever, but he doesn't appear to have overthought it. The idea hasn't consumed the end product as completely as on some of his late 90s efforts, and it is in that equlibrium that Just A Souvenir excels, managing to wow numerous times over the course of playback.
mp3s: Just A Woman | Planet Gear
more info: Official artist site | Warp Records
buy it: Bleep | Warpmart | Boomkat | Amazon