Squarepusher had been very active at the dawn of the 21st century in the world of music. This album release was his sixth release under the Squarepusher tag, which is an incredible output since his debut album, Feed Me Weird Things, was released back in 1996. This album release comes in an interesting format, being a dual-disc CD (later digital) release that included the main album, followed by live recordings that were dubbed Live In Japan. Nonetheless, this release should be an interesting and exciting listen to pursue. As a spoiler, it features a redo of the Joy Division classic song Love Will Tear Us Apart. The album had a moderate commercial and critical impact, although this was clearly not seen as Squarepusher’s best effort. This album was self-produced and released on 30 September 2002 on Warp Records. Squarepusher is Thomas Russell Jenkinson. Let’s take a listen to this double album, and we shall hear how it is.

1. Do You Know Squarepusher begins with a digital voice sample and launches into an intricate and intelligent piece of IDM-styled Drum and Bass Music. It sounds different, energetic and incredible throughout. A cool set of lyrical digital singing emerges, and this sounds like Daft Punk ventured into a more cut-up and intelligent set of tunes. A really great and interesting song to listen to, this sounds loud, intricate and very amazing throughout. No doubt that some in the very early days of Dubstep were paying attention to the music present on this album, including the likes of Skrillex. All in all, a fantastic listen and something quirky and catchy to listen to throughout. A very intricately layered and interesting track to boot. In the second half, some intricate editing and sampling, matched with forward-thinking electronic sounds, make this a winner. The music is unlike most forms of music preceding it. A futuristic, intelligent home listening experience that is brain food, rather than pill-popping party music. This does sound really great, all in all. A seriously cool listening experience throughout. This wraps up with some neat vocal samples, cut-up digital drums and other IDM-style sounds. Very cool. It ends after five minutes.

2. F-Train is more subdued from the start. It begins with some Techno-style melodies and launches into a cut-up piece of music glory. Some rapped vocals that are cut up and spliced enter, and this is a very IDM and original-sounding piece of music throughout. This is the perfect post-hallucinogenic trip listening experience that sounds artistic, and that you should listen to. An absolute joy to listen to, and something with a futuristic intent. The vocals are the key part of this track, and this tune reflects a creative and intricate musical nature. To be fair, this is just Rap vocals edited to the nth degree with some music accompaniment, but it does sound really cool to listen to. If one needs a good glimpse into the future, Squarepusher paves the way for that vision. A good tune to hear, and this sounds artistic and intricate. A really underground and detailed track. Fantastic and inspired music that pushes the boundaries, true to Squarepusher’s name.

3. Kill Robok begins with some dark and cut-up original sound patches. This launches into a mysterious sounding track that sounds tasty, devilish and interesting for a Techno instrumental which is heavily Drum and Bass and IDM inspired. It is a cool and interesting piece that, although it isn’t Squarepusher’s best. It has many layers and sections of sound, mainly percussion-based, that sound really great. A weird and unorthodox track that is ultimately rewarding to listen to. Less than four minutes of digital glory are present on this tune. Nicely layered with Clicks and Cuts to melt your mind. This music is a thorough winner, and just sounds very appropriate for the overall album and Squarepusher as well. It ends after just three and a half minutes. Sweet. It fades out with some humming sounds to conclude.

4. Anstromm-Feck 4 begins with some profane and cut-up vocals that are actually quite humourous. This launches into some more awesome and well-calculated music that does work very nicely. A really cool, interesting and clever track to listen to. Squarepusher was still putting out some incredibly wonderful and gifted music to listen to. A real prodigy at what he was doing, this music is powerfully and enjoyably uplifting to listen to. This is by far one of the better tracks from the album so far, and it creatively articulates the human spirit through technology from within. All in all, a sweet and powerful piece of nicely delivered music to hear. The barrage of beats and sounds is simply unreal. Very, very nice to hear. A totally enjoyable tune and track to listen to. Worth it from start to finish.

5. Conc 2 Symmetriac begins with some discordant sounds that are very, very freaky to listen to. This shifts and changes, sounding eerie. This gradually enters into an odd and futuristic soundscape that is very different. An interesting listen, however. Very unusual.

6. Mutilation Colony is a 10-minute-plus-long piece. It begins with a dark and ambient styled fade-in, launching into a very Pink Floydian styled track. This sounds very odd indeed in a musical sense. A great description of this music is dark ambient music. It gradually leads into the main section of music, which has pretty yet dark ambient washes of sound. Very dark and deep to listen to. This music is freaky beyond all expectations, and it paints an instrumental science fiction-based reality that is dark and scary. This music continues to shape and shift into a dark listening experience that is valuable and memorable throughout. There is some neat subsonic bass throughout this track as well. This sounds primarily Electronic, and very trippy to hear. A deep, dark and spacey tune. Towards the middle is a drastic change with some discordant bleeps, and some other very different and creative sounds to listen to. A really interesting and tripped-out tune, even though many will find this difficult to embrace as such. Some interesting progressions are present on this track, and this has some audio-visual sounds and sound effects to blow your mind. The middle of this track has some really great metallic sounds that are really cool to hear. A very awesome and powerful listen indeed. This is best enjoyed lying on the bed with headphones on and listening at a reasonably high volume. This isn’t party hard House or Techno. Instead, it is dark and abstract digital music that simply works incredibly well. A very trance-inducing and tripped-out listen. The second half has some edited drums and cymbals galore. It sounds very unusual indeed. An experimental listening experience, but a solid gold one at that. This music is very intricate, interesting and different throughout. A very dark and moving tune, this has many surprises up its sleeve. The music on this track is from a very dark and imaginative place. In any case, it certainly is very effective and beautiful to listen to, despite being very dark and moody as well. A fantastic listen throughout. Some weird and odd sounds are edited to the max near the end of this track. This progresses really well, and sounds like a million bucks. It builds up with a static sonic rush right at the end, before concluding with random cut-up sounds and sonic textures. Very, very cool. An absolute head rush from beginning to end.

7. Love Will Tear Us Apart is a short Joy Division cover. It begins with a great and original take on the tune itself. Sure, this is just a cover, but it is delivered and performed fantastically. A really powerful and interesting listen to behold. This sounds very deep and moving throughout. A great example of how delivering a unique take on a song can make it come alive. This is a great rendition of the original song, sounding just as moody and dark as the original tune. It was very ballsy for Squarepusher to spend time making this track. An awesome and enjoyable listen throughout. The instrumentation perfectly matches the song, with hi-hats everywhere and beautiful melodies to match it. Nice work.

8. Mutilation Colony-Excerpt – Live begins the second half of the album. It has some polite applause and cheering from the crowd before launching right into a live rendition of the track on this album. It sounds dark, spacey and freaky to listen to. Nonetheless, this does work very nicely in a musical sense. The array of sounds and textures throughout is very, very interesting to listen to. This gradually builds up to an exciting sonic set of structural sounds. The music plays very, very well here. It sounds powerful and lively to listen to. It gradually seeps into the next track.

9. The Exploding Psychology – Live is a seven-minute-long live tune. It has some well-structured sounds, before Squarepusher asks the crowd if they are enjoying the music. This sounds interesting, intelligent and intricate. Squarepusher certainly is a genius of an intellectual music mindset. This has some rapid-fire progressions throughout that sound really neat to hear. A great synthesis of original sound. This goes through a ton of transformations upon listening to it, and is IDM to maximum effect. The sounds are out of this world to listen to. All in all, a seriously great tune to listen to. The digital editing throughout is awesome. After some time, proper beats enter, and this tune comes nicely alive. A very sensational and seismic listening experience. Eventually, this reaches the midsection, which has some cool and descriptive Drum and Bass beats to listen to. A powerful and wonderful tune. Really forward sounding and futuristic simultaneously. This continues onwards and upwards in a neat fashion. A very interesting and well-structured live performance is present. A great tune to hear. The second half of the track has some liquid sounds, which are really quite neat. A great piece of music to listen to. There are some interesting instruments throughout, adding to the dark nature of the track. It gradually progresses towards the end with a downtempo yet interesting sound to it all. It wraps up with some slowed-down sounds and is a descriptively detailed tune. It begins to wrap up with some nice digitised sounds and a futuristic slant musically. The crowd cheers at the end.

10. My Red Hot Car – Live launches into a great live rendition of the classic track by Squarepusher. It sounds sweet and fantastic throughout. The vocal samples and cut-up Amen Break/Jungle styled breakbeats are fine and great to hear. A really good tune to hear. This elaborates on the original tune in a DJ set. One can hear the fine genius of Squarepusher throughout this track. The intricacies of this music are really awesomely brilliant to listen to, as is the crowd cheering. This track is a solid gold piece of great music that does not fail to impress. The sounds and textures throughout are really mindblowing to listen to. This is a fantastic highlight of the live side of the album, and just sounds sensationally powerful and great throughout. The music, melodies and sounds throughout are suspenseful and highly intelligent as well. A good addition to this live section of the album. The music and sounds are really in a class of their own on this album, and are the IDM definition of awesome listening. It has a spacey and epic conclusion that is very memorable and sweet to listen to. This ends with some weird sounds, including microphonic feedback.

11. Do You Know Squarepusher – Live begins with some awesome and excellently cut-up glory of sonic samples. This is beyond description and comprehension in overall quality; it is very amazing to listen to. This music is a real DMT trip for the senses, and is in its own way, light years ahead of everyone else in the music industry. The sounds, beats and textures are very original and are also second to none. This music is the best IDM and Drum and Bass head rush that you will ever experience and hear. Period. A sensationally enjoyable and powerful listening experience is present on this tune. Do you know Squarepusher? You will by this point. This tune is a seismic force of energy and headrush that cannot be beaten. It sounds very energetic and a bunch of mental sounds for all to enjoy. An absolutely wonderful and mental sounding piece of music, this is light years ahead of the Digital Pop present in the charts at the time of writing. An awesome and likely drug-influenced tune that makes sense to listen to in most situations. Very brilliant. It ends suddenly with some loud cheering and screamed profanities by Squarepusher himself.

12. Direct To Mental – Live continues on with some Acid House styled melodies, which sound quirky and excellent. Some digital metallic sounds then enter, and this piece comes nicely alive. A very energetic, eclectic and awesome track emerges to listen to. Squarepusher is testing the limits of Electronic Music with this double album, and he does so in very fine style. The sounds and mix are really top-notch and intelligent. Who said EDM was all the same? Clearly, it is not the case. Squarepusher is on an absolute roll here, and he perfectly articulates via drum machines and other devices how this is the case. A breakdown emerges with the crowd cheering, followed by a gong sound and some really dark and warped listening. Very excellent to listen to, with some wacky and quirky sounds throughout. This gets quite discordant and feedback-laden, seguing into the next track.

13. Boneville Occident – Live continues the mayhem with some digitally modified sounds and vocals. The sounds are interesting and different throughout. It sounds kind of freaky in its own way. The music continues on with samples of looped screaming and other weird additions to the mix. This is freaky beyond measure to hear, and is a bit of a twist in the Squarepusher live set. By this point, some listeners may be turned off, although Squarepusher was never really intended to be for a mainstream music audience. Soon enough, this launches back into action with some awesome beats, textures and sounds that are really quite revolutionary in their own way. A glorious listen with various cut-up sounds, textures and surprises throughout. All in all, this is a manic and interesting listen. This sounds very different, with some interesting and monumental textures that sound crazy. This continues on in a constructed mayhem that sounds very, very different to listen to. In the midsection is an unusual rhythm that gradually slows down, and it gets digitally tripped out. The sounds in the brief breakdown are really amazing. This is followed by an intense section that would make The Chemical Brothers very proud indeed. This is definite proof that Squarepusher could cut amazing live sets as well. A very interesting listen overall. The cut-up and spacey sound sections are very truly amazing in their own way. A really different listen that gets spacey right towards the end. Around this time, some legendary beats enter that sound nicely cut up and really amazing. Squarepusher was and is making futuristic music for those who dare seek it. There is a cut-up section of interesting digital textures, as this gradually finishes, and Squarepusher himself screams for the crowd to get louder. This leads into the next track.

14. Go! Spastic – Live is another lengthy piece at nearly nine minutes in length. It begins with cut-up Amen Breakbeats and digital bleeps galore. This sounds very cool and interesting to listen to. A very interesting listen, with cut-up vocals and other glorious sounds to boot. This does sound very, very fantastic to listen to. A really powerful and interesting listen for EDM and IDM fans that sounds indescribably awesome to listen to. A strong and powerful case for the fact that EDM can be cool, interesting and well delivered live. Some new and interesting cut-up breakbeats then enter, and this sounds like an absolute trip of Psychedelic dimensions. A really cool listen with a ton of different sections and suspense throughout. Some downpitched distorted vocals enter, and this tune continues to progress very nicely. Very cool to hear. This is sustained for some time before launching into more Amen Drum and Bass beats galore. A punchy and interesting listen that seriously does not disappoint. Some scratching and digital editing make this sound like a real treat to listen to. It is a depth of interesting and tripped-out sound that will surprise and startle the average listener. The cut-up vocals return, and we had a very tripped-out sound on this particular track. Squarepusher gets the crowd going, and more Drum and Bass beats follow. An absolutely sweet and divine listening experience that takes you places that most other forms of music would not even dare to do. A fantastic and awesome listening experience, given that this is a live performance of EDM. In the second half are some monumental digital breakdowns, laced with feedback. Soon enough, some Roland TB-303 style sounds emerge, along with the cut-up drum beats. This is surprisingly awesome to hear. A really sweet and powerful tune that invites you to keep on listening from start to end. This is, admittedly, a bit lengthy, however. The music and sounds are deep, interesting and intense. Towards the end is a static-sounding breakdown that gets darker and more eerie-sounding, before wrapping up this section of the live performance. Intense as heck. An awesome listen, however. Very cinematic in a horror film-style sense.

15. Greenways Trajectory – Live begins with glorious sounds and more cut-up beats, and this continues on into a nearly 10-minute-long piece of music. It sounds absolutely joyous and fantastic to listen to in a glorious sense. This is out there and fascinating to listen to. A powerful and wonderful listen that is extremely intelligent and well done. It seems that Squarepusher himself was entirely capable of being musically gifted. It sounds surreal and absolutely awesome to listen to this music. It is in a realm of its own, to be fair. Yes, this is a long listen (which is a flaw of this part of the album), but it sounds terrifically awesome for the power, energy and sounds from within. A supercharged and interesting listen throughout that is very, very suspenseful. After some time, it all slows down magnificently and sounds really sweet. This sounds different, dark and a bit of a suspenseful ride throughout. The sounds on this part of the album are very, very freaky to listen to, and are a bit tough on one’s ears. A good deal of strange suspense is present, but elements of it aren’t the best. A very interesting and suspenseful listen is here. This breaks down into some hyperdigital sounds that are sensationally cool. The sounds in the midsection are very intense and different. Squarepusher screams into the microphone, and this music continues on in a random, frenzied listening experience. A wonderful listen throughout, although it is very freaky and discordant-sounding. The sounds and washes of audio are very different to listen to. This is more for suspenseful Electronic theatre than anything else. It is not really recommended listening for most people out there, except for EDM purists. It is interesting, but could have been rethought in retrospect. A really awesome section follows of cut-up sounds, and this gradually progresses nicely throughout. Drums enter as this piece gradually draws to a close. It sounds absolutely massive and full of twists and turns throughout. A powerfully moving and interesting listen. This music gradually draws to a close and sounds inspired. It ends with some interesting sonic sounds and builds up to a chaotic climax at the end, followed by crowd cheering and a fade out.

16. My Fucking Sound – Live begins with some subtle audience cheering and spacey sounds galore that are really fantastic. This enters into a unique realm of digital sound that is really fantastic to hear. The sounds and musicianship throughout are really outstanding. This progresses very nicely into a warped and awesome sonic rush that has many different sections to listen to. This sounds like a dark and disturbing, tripped-out video game. The glassy textures throughout are very different. This moves on eerily and strangely, with some cut-up and edited Drum and Bass beats galore. This is a great listen live, although some of it is more digestible than other parts of it all. However, nonetheless, this is very, very good to listen to. A major trip throughout that seriously does not disappoint. The cut-up beats and textures are mixed together into a climactic listen towards the middle, and this mixes up to a brilliant music change. Soon enough, beats re-enter, and this tune sounds absolutely mindblowing to listen to. This is definitely very, very interesting to listen to. A mayhem of beats, sounds and textures is present on this track. It breaks down in the second half and quickly reassembles itself for the crowd listening. An absolutely brilliant tune to hear. Squarepusher puts himself firmly into the future of the world of music here. Eventually, this leads to a mad and psychotic sounding mayhem of digital sounds. Eventually, this wraps up gradually with a glory of sounds and styles to match. Very, very cool to hear. The sounds and climaxes throughout this tune are absolutely amazing to hear. This sounds like a cosmic bomb exploding towards the end of this track, and cut-up sounds and vocals are present. Eventually, this gradually wraps up very nicely and sounds mega in the process of it all. Sweet, great to hear. Absolutely mammoth sounding. It ends with some high-frequency noise.

17. Anstromm-Feck 4 – Live begins with some mad Drum and Bass and Techno mix styled sounds, which are incredibly cool. An epic listen, and a sensationally great way to conclude an impressive album. This sounds monumental, mega and awesome to listen to. Soon enough, bongos and digital sounds collide, and this tune really becomes quite stunningly awesome to hear. A really top listen that is rewarding, this has a firecharged style listening experience that is very impressive. This music is definitely in a class of its own. Transforming and changing in a big way throughout it all, this music is a fairly unforgettable listen throughout. It speeds up gradually towards the end of it all, and sounds chaotic as a result. Eventually, this concludes nicely and sounds really great to finish up with. Some crowd cheering goes on for some time, and this album draws to a close. Brilliant.

This is a very good listening experience overall, although it could have been edited down and separated into two separate album releases, it is still an absolute gem and worth every moment listening to. Squarepusher clearly puts his heart and soul into his unique combination of Techno, Drum and Bass and IDM, and puts out a very good recording for all fans of his to enjoy. Should you listen to this album? Give it a try, but if you don’t like Alternative EDM music, you may wish to look elsewhere.

A decent album, even if it is not Squarepusher’s best.

7/10

Best tracks: Do You Know Squarepusher, Anstromm-Feck 4.