Ufabulum is a return to the fucked-up, Amen-mashing, IDM-ridiculousness of his most famous works, exemplified most spectacularly for me on the untouchable Go Plastic album. In fact, his intentions are instantly made clear on Ufabulum‘s first track, “4001,” which launches straight into skipping, uptempo breaks, deliciously dirty basslines and epic synth passages.
Squarepusher has long been a favorite of mine. Ever since I first heard the line, “Let the bass kick,” I was hooked. And even though he lost his way in more recent times, with the (rather geekily impressive) Solo Electric Bass 1, through the (bizarre) Just a Souvenir, to the (truly awful) Shoebaleader One project, I’m willing to forgive everything with his latest full-length record for Warp.
Ufabulum is a return to the fucked-up, Amen-mashing, IDM-ridiculousness of his most famous works, exemplified most spectacularly for me on the untouchable Go Plastic album. In fact, his intentions are instantly made clear on Ufabulum‘s first track, “4001,” which launches straight into skipping, uptempo breaks, deliciously dirty basslines and epic synth passages.
There’s no let up on second track either. “Unreal Square” builds melodic synth patterns around hard-as-fuck bass noises, almost militant beats and one of the cheekiest high-register synth melodies I’ve heard in a long while. I must admit that I didn’t like this track much on first listen (it reminded me too much of a melody from Go Plastic), but now it’s one of my favourites, especially when the ‘Pusher goes into a section later on that can only be described as an edit festival.
Unfortunately, the album is ruined as a whole by the next tune, “Stadium Ice,” and possibly further damaged by the two following on from that one. “Stadium Ice’s” sickly synth chord sequences frankly turn my stomach, and are only punctuated welcomely by brief excursions into bitcrushed breaks. To be honest, I don’t know what it is that makes me honestly despise this track so much, but things are only marginally much improved by “Energy Wizard,” which follows up, with its tastier drum tracks and bass sounds. However, things take an extreme turn for the worse with the pompous and overblown “Red In Blue,” upon which I have nothing more to say than “SKIP!”
Luckily, Squarepusher finds his way out of the wilderness with the super-fast techno/DnB/acid exercise called “The Metallurgist.” Others may find this too IDM for its own good, but to my ears, it shows why Squarepusher deserves his place in the pantheon of fine Warp artists. He continues this track with a tune featuring beautiful, strange and astounding edits that goes by the rather Autechre-sounding title of “Drax 2.” And, in fact, you can easily imagine this track being a collaboration between these two giants of the Warp stable. It’s comprised of rolling beats (cut up into oblivion at times), plus droning and entirely mesmeric synthlines that drive into the nether regions of your mind, and it builds into utter distorted chaos by the end. This is the sort of track you buy a Squarepusher album for and you’ll be pleased to know he’s back on top form here.
Yet, by far the best track to my mind is “Dark Steering.” It kicks off with slower and more easily judged beats, nicely grooving basslines and very little melody whatsoever. Then, the big-gun synths join the fray, before Squarepusher produces some of those beautiful melodies that he’s know to evoke every now and then. However, just when you get accustomed to the direction of the track, it changes course with a superb sound that’s either a sample of a high-speed deathmachine of some kind or produced by some synth wizardry or other. I suspect the latter, but the impression is most assuredly of the former. Listening to the tune in question, you can imagine yourself pulling on the accelerator, changing gears smoothly and blasting round a long curve, seeing over the edge of the cliff and hanging on for dear life with a grin on your face.
“303 Scopem Hard” is, as you might expect, an uptempo acid workout, but it contains similar synth noises to the previous track, giving a sense of continuity to the overall work. Then, to finish off, you get a more typically Squarepusher, almost trance-like DnB number in the shape of “Ecstatic Shock.”
To be honest, I can’t believe that this guy, Tom Jenkinson (as he’s know to his mum), has been around for a good 16 or 17 years now. Yet he’s never managed to stand still at any point in his career. Yes, he’s relied on Amen-breaks too much at times, but his musicality, jazz sensibility and awesome bass playing have made him stand out from the crowd. And, despite my reservations over a couple of the tunes featured here, this is a very welcome return. In short, then, Ufabulum is an essential purchase for all ‘Pusher fans.
