Thomas Russell Jenkinson, aka Squarepusher, wanted to mix things up for this particular album release. Instead of relying on some live instrumentation, as he had done with all of his previous releases, he abandoned this approach and used purely digital sounds for this particular album release. Mind you, this was merely a phase that Squarepusher himself was going through musically at the time. The result was positive reviews and one of Squarepusher’s highest-ranking albums by online critics. The album itself was released on 25 June 2001 on the famous Warp Records label and runs for over 48 minutes in length. It was also self-recorded and produced by Squarepusher. Let’s listen to this album, and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. My Red Hot Car is the main single from this era. It begins with beeps, bleeps, subsonic bass and simple percussion to match. A great and minimalistic combination of sounds, samples and instrumentation that is extremely well done and exceptionally intelligent. Indeed, true to his name, Squarepusher pushes the boundaries of the accepted in music. This tune sounds excellent for what it is and is extremely interesting as well. A tripped-out and interesting tune to listen to, this sounds gloriously cool. Some of the most advanced sounds recorded until 2001 are present on this tune. It has a huge amount of cut-up sonic elements throughout that are very, very awesome. Not danceable, definitely IDM style. Still, an absolutely wonderful listening experience. Worth it if you are having a steady trip on Psychedelic drugs or simply a joint to match. This sounds best at home with headphones on, rather than played in a nightclub. All in all, this is fantastic. Great job, dude.

2. Boneville Occident begins with some funky, deep bass sounds and choppy beats. This sounds very eclectic and quite different. This music is a good reminder of the articulate and interesting nature of IDM-based soundscapes that can be made today. No vocals, no specific format, just intelligent soundscapes on this album. This has some awesome cut-up Amen Breakbeats and other classic Breaks to listen to. Extremely fluid and cool, Squarepusher knows exactly how to spice things up in a musical sense. All in all, this music is something out of the distant future in terms of sonic tastes. There is a trippy mixture of cut-up loops and sound effects that sound ridiculously cool. A very warped and quirky sonic adventure. This mixes Techno, Drum and Bass, IDM, Psychedelia and futuristic artistry into one awesome album. Seriously, this sounds absolutely amazing. Squarepusher was at a musical peak here, and this relentless barrage of beats never bores, nor fails to impress. Towards the end are some random cyber sounds, followed by cut-up breakbeats to match. Top notch, this is superb. Worth hearing if you need a sub-five-minute long slice of IDM. The sweep delay at the end is totally awesome.

3. Go! Spastic has some more Acid Techno sounds and super fast cut up Drum and Bass beats to hear. This is a futuristic and brilliant listen that very much needs some noise-cancelling headphones to hear. Cut-up vocal samples that are confusingly inaudible in a traditional sense are present, alongside some trippy and interesting sounds that match this album and Squarepusher’s desire to innovate. Absolutely wonderfully fantastic. After some time, the tempo slows down just a tad to have a slower, Breakbeat feel that is also very rewarding. Cut up vocals then enter the mix and get loud, followed by explosive percussion sounds. Squarepusher was truly having a ball on this album, and the rewarding listening experience matches it. It is the equivalent of a sonic bomb being set off in your ears; it is that important, intelligent and significant as a record. This six-minute-long piece of music sounds so precise and interesting that it is like that Squarepusher himself has an IQ of over 200. This is Squarepusher at his very best in the 21st century. It is certainly an intellectual listening experience unlike any other out there. Nonetheless, this does sound extremely cool and interesting throughout. A supercharged frenzy of melodies and percussion finishes off this tune. It sounds like Squarepusher had musical ADHD, and he put this into his music. This concludes with some dark, ambient and scary organ-style sounds. Very freaky. It segues into the next track.

4. Metteng Excuske v1.2 begins with some dark and pulsating basslines, along with some other freakily dark psychological sounds to match. This is a piece that is only a minute long, but sounds completely dark, warped and odd. It sounds like a spacecraft exploding. It finishes up after a minute and is very weird.

5. The Exploding Psychology is a little bit lighter, with a waltz-like groove to begin with. It has some excellent digital sounds that sound deep and interesting throughout. The sounds are from a scientific, futuristic perspective here. If IDM and Techno had a musical brainchild prodigy of sorts, Squarepusher would be it. An extremely Psychedelic listening experience is present in an original format. This is a great product of an imaginative, intelligent mind that is Squarepusher. In any case, this is definitely music for those of you who value IDM that is off the beaten path. This is a very trippy and nicely layered tune that sounds absolutely awesome to hear. This has some random vocal samples and continues in an irregular musical way. Very, very cool to hear. This music is a very strong mix of dynamics, precision and interesting sounds that are truly worth your time. This is like a DMT trip set to music, truly unforgettable in many ways, even if it doesn’t make any sense at all. This is truly an adventure through sound. It breaks down in the second half, leaving some bare instrumentation playing along. This continues on nicely and sounds like the sort of Ambient IDM that only dreams could ever replicate. All in all, this is a good listen, although very much an acquired taste. This has a sort of Breaks like structure as a musical whole right at the end. Very adventurous, and worth hearing 100%. A very interesting listen.

6. I Wish You Could Talk begins with some discordant sounds and Drum and Bass beats to match. This sounds warped, dark and extremely disturbing. If you don’t like being freaked out by dark music, you may want to avoid this. Despite all this, this tune is another masterwork by Squarepusher that sounds ridiculously good to hear. A fast-paced, fiery and awesome tune to listen to, the Drum and Bass Amen Breakbeats here are fantastic. This is a furious whirlwind of music and energy that does not disappoint. Certainly, this is by far one of the best Squarepusher releases to date, and he has nailed his artistry very, very well on this tune. A wickedly cool listen, although this is rather unsettling and freaky sonically to listen to. All in all, this tune explores the darkest depths of the human psyche with a Techno/Ambient/IDM mix. Pink Floyd may have sold human insanity to the masses, and Nine Inch Nails were much more upfront about human despair, but Squarepusher will literally scare you sonically. A great listen nonetheless from beginning to end. A deep and disturbing tune.

7. Greenways Trajectory is a grand mixture of Techno and IDM. It is extremely adventurous and interesting to listen to. It has a dynamic interest and character that propels it along very, very nicely. This seven-minute-long piece does not disappoint, not even for a moment. A fast forward glimpse into the future of the world, with Electronic Music, AI, Space travel and aliens, this is a super cool listen regardless. Never for a moment is this music dull or boring, far from it. It takes the traditional notion of 4/4 beats, puts that in the bin and utilises a completely new and original approach to music that is super cool and intelligent at the same time. This is music for the mind, rather than music for the body, really. It slows down somewhat towards the midsection, before being mixed in a cyber-based way, which sounds fantastic to hear. This blasts into a new synthesis of sound in the middle with some awesome cut-up vocals and textures, which are absolutely brilliant. The music present has some of the best sound montages that you will ever hear in your lifetime. Loops, editing and frequency adjustments are all present, in a musical sense. In the second half, it builds up to a computerised, machine gun-style sound, with some pitch shifting. This continues on for a bit, and it sounds gloriously interesting as a piece of music. All in all, this music sounds really fantastically great to listen to and to enjoy. Soon enough, drum and bass beats enter, and this tune launches into a fast and intricate final section of this seven-minute-long track. Absolutely awesome, and extremely logical and intelligent throughout. Worth every moment, a great piece of music that is seven minutes long. The outro is absolutely hilariously cool.

8. Tommib is a short, one-minute-long piece. It has some basic ambient melodies and launches into a sweet and melodic tune that is surprisingly simple to listen to. This is a different listen throughout, and it sounds extremely mellow for both Squarepusher and this album. Nice to hear.

9. My Fucking Sound is another seven minute science fiction styled epic. This sounds more adventurous, yet more sparse than some of the tracks before it. It has a bunch of interesting percussive sounds, melodies and a quick groove to it all. This music is supersonic and artistic in the best ways possible. This progresses into a spacious and spacey sounding piece that sounds like aliens have infiltrated Squarepusher’s brain. Seriously. This is not the music of the 21st century, but the 31st century instead. The music has many artistic and innovative dimensions throughout. The cut-up beats and sound samples are used in an original and iconic way, which sounds absolutely sweet yet cold, dark and menacing throughout. This music is extremely original and completely different to anything else out there, before or since in the world of music, really. A fantastic and different montage of sound is present throughout this tune, and indeed, the wider album. In the second half, a spacey climax begins to occur, which builds up to a re-entry into the spacey Techno based soundscapes of Squarepusher’s IDM-styled tune. This music is undeniably awesome and different. It just sounds absolutely wonderfully surreal, powerful and ingenious throughout. Pounding beats and stuttered sounds emerge as this tune gradually creeps towards its end. Towards the end is a sample of old TV sounds, followed by more intelligent and innovative IDM-style sounds that are extremely cool to hear. Very nice. This is definitely worth spending seven minutes of your life listening to. It falls apart right at the end, with beeps and bleeps everywhere.

10. Plaistow Flex Out is the final track on this album. It is a soundscape-style piece that sounds just as awesome as the rest of the album. Simple beats, a Trip Hop feel and some great grooves power along this tune. This is a laid-back and rather Psychedelic tune that is perfect to hear, given the mayhem before it. Some fuzz bass sort of sounds emerge on this tune as the main melody, which is interesting. A nice and chilled tune to hear, which is particularly good for that post-Rave hangover that you may have. All in all, this is exactly what one should hear as a closing track on this magnificent album. Simple and artistic, although a little repetitive, this is a fine way to say how it is done. A mellower representation of how this album can deliver musically. To be fair, this one could have been shortened up a bit. Regardless, this is a very good conclusion to a unique and consistent album in the history of Electronic Music. It fades out gently at the end of it all.

This is a sensationally great album. Not only is it one of Squarepusher’s best albums to listen to, but it is also a landmark in the history of EDM-based Electronic Music. This is music from the future, as opposed to music based on past traditions. Even though this was released back in 2001, it still sounds like it would have made exactly the same impact if released today. That says a great deal. Should you listen to this album? If you want a brilliant mixture of soundscape IDM and Techno based Drum and Bass, this is perfect for you. However, fans of non-Electronic Music may not enjoy this release.

Brilliant and fantastic album release.

9/10