Just a Souvenir

Great album. Squarepusher at his best. But for those who calls it 'new' and 'experimental' check Weather Report and you'll see where this 'funk' is coming from.

Listening to this album feels like a rechanneling of all those incredible Acid Jazz energies released in the making of Hard Normal Daddy. It is cleeean. It is tight. Its a return to what Tom does best; blasting you with melodic shrapnel from time dialated bass solos. Every song is a radiant gem mined deep from Jenkinson's brain. Give this album your most sincere attention, and you will be rewarded whenever you push play.

There is a critical sense from nineties ravers that squarepusher missed on this one; that his typical electronic math is conspicuously absent. Actually, I believe that on Just a Souvenir Tom has culminated a style that has long eluded him. He came close to perfecting it many times over many B-sides and EPs, and he hashed it out in strange places, perhaps never focusing with quite the intensity he achieves here. But now there is no mistake: a new Squarepusher is here, and he is hardly pushing squares anymore. A beautiful, psychedelic band beats at the heart of this imaginative work, and is unique to Tom in truly an endearing way. Both his craft and instrumentalism is on full-throttle - one hundred percent - and the result is delicious. Electronic beat music has always been hard up for soul, but Squarepusher brings us a real band, with real chops and gutsy, live energy. I believe he has done something here that builds on his previous work while simultaneously outstripping it. Excellent! Thank you Tom ;-)

Squarepushers album, "Just a Souvenir" epicly fails on many levels. I'm ashamed to say that I even purchased the song, "The Coat/wang/er". After listening to this song once more in my music folder, I was forced to write a review. Not only do all of the songs sound the same and have the same silly banjo strumming wildly in the background, but the "talent" on this album is almost laughable. In all honesty, it sounds like Helen Keller got a bunch of instruments and threw them in a wood chipper and they wouldn't finish chipping all the way and still kept playing and just wouldn't die down!

I've been following Tom's musical career since the late 90's, and this is one of my favorite Squarepusher albums yet. It's way more experimental than the others and mixes groove with distorted base. Some of the tracks even feel like Squarepusher and Lightning Bolt teamed up, but I know they didn't. Planet Gear is the best track. It has a hard edged sound, however Tom mixes in those time and space splitting melodies we've all grown to love. Long live the TB-303.

I love squarepusher. Ever since I found Hello Everything, it just exploded from there. THis album is much more tonal than the previous. I lovethe melodies he comes up with. They remind me of hello everything, but his phrasing in my opinion is much better this time around. Sit back, and groove through this electronic soundscape.

This is pure tom jenkinson. no longer the need to bleed the ears. it's pure delight to hear where he's at now. listen to vic acid then to planet gear, u'll get it in time. THIS ALBUM IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!!! The quality of big disc vs. mp3 is undeniable. if you have a working needle pick this up, non-digital.

This is definitely a more bass heavy, funky toned album, but that just makes it all the more awesome. Seems to enhance what we already love about squarepusher, taking it to the next level, yet again, of experimental electronic artistry.

Nice move Tom, insane prog instrumentation (think Relayer by Yes) mixed with enough breaks to make even the more jaded hipsters spill their PBR. The Glass Road should be sent back in time to the mid-70's and pushed in the face of those loons (nice loons, I like them) or some sort of Marty McFly gig where Tom plays a support slot for Van Der Graaf Generator and mashes the minds. Guess I liked it, as usual.

I always knew Squarepusher is a talented bassist, but this album showcases his true bass talent. This album couldn't get more out of control yet it is intricately coordinated at the same time. To me, this album has a Frank Zappa, Les Claypool and Jaco Pastorius inspired sound. One of the best attributes of Squarepusher is he takes chances with his sound.