Squarepusher - Untitled (12" single)

Bring that beat back! Oh, wait... I'm listening to Squarepusher, and there's no definitive beat to bring back, because he keeps changing it up and mixing it around so fast that there's not one place to groove on. Instead, we get the pleasure of surfing the webby contexts and subtexts of Mr. Pusher's brain waves, allowing our own to jump in several different directions. I honestly believe that listening to Squarepusher and classical music- which are more closely related than you think- will expand and better your mind, just in the sense that there's more layers to absorb and faster paces for your brain to process than anything else out today. Not that this album is technically new. Taken from the sessions of Go Plastic, which came out in 2001, this is a one-song, vinyl-only release that may to some seem daunting, may to some seem taunting, and to others, just plain perplexing. It's actually all three: Daunting in the sense that there are more nuances and directions to this one song than many other releases out there, taunting because many diehard fans may want this to be a taste of what's to come in the future of all that is Mr. Chaos AD, and perplexing because "Untitled" is a hodgepodge, a cut-and-paste collage of different beats, melodies, and gargled synth voices, which are probably all samples of the artist's own voice, albiet too jumbled to know if it's another jab at the UK rave scene. So very British and upright, the jazz-fusion of Squarepusher's infamous bass guitar seems almost gleefully wobbly in comparison. In essence, it's the essence of Squarepusher, which is a lovely mixture of a brilliant artist's digital expression. Probably better suited to the more rabid fans, as it's a vinyl-only release, those of whom seek the rarities of the music world on MP3 should however definitely put this on their list of must-haves, as it is truly an interesting summation of the whole parts of IDM without the popular appeal that, inherently, makes it all the more cooler, so fetch. [www.warprecords.com]