Lianne

Old but handsome. However, I do think Rob would look better with a bit of a beard.

So far at this early stage, I think my favourite track has settled at 'Domelash'.

I've not seen this mentioned here - but as a fan of that gaming era's soundtracks and previous releases have really been enjoying this new little E.P... https://robertloganmusic.bandcamp.com/album/16-bits-of-heaven

Thank you for this; really interesting to read. Be Up A Hello was also a massive return to form for me, almost entirely because of how more richer and deeper it sounded once again. It was so good to realise he could still do that after the few albums before it. Whilst I will happily defer to you and other musicians on this, I do remember musicians and producers I know also saying d'Demonstrator had incredibly weird mixing. Obviously weird and unconventional can be a wonderful thing, but in that case if anyone else had done it I'd just found it amateurish rather than "wow, this is different and challenging." At his best Squarepusher seems to pull off amazing paradoxes - music that can be really extreme or surprising but with an obviously excellent full sound that makes you grin. During that previous 2008-2015 period I just found I had to do too many mental gymnastics to get into it as the brittleness made the first line of just listening generally not that enjoyable. I don't know much EDM or like it, but even that stuff felt it had a bit less weird sizzle when I have heard it. An interesting test for me is whether I'd show a track to a friend (who likes other interesting music) to get them into Squarepusher. And that's not just showing something familiar to them/their tastes; it can make them WTF but if it sounds great then that has its own fun. I'd share My Fucking Sound or Do You Know Squarepusher or many things from 1997 - 2003 in a heartbeat, but as much as I try to make myself get into that other period because it's good to hear an artist you respect out, experiences of sharing it kind of confirmed the above instincts on it all.

Of course there's too many to list, but maybe out of more recent releases specifically relevant to these subforums, I found Aphex Twin's Collapse E.P really stunning in its presence and punch, Autechre's last two studio albums sounded hugely satisfying, and whilst I didn't really get on with the album in other ways, Clark's last studio album at least *sounded* really rich and excellently engineered if I listened to it across various systems. Those I can tell are mastered quite "loud", but I've also enjoyed releases from other genres with much more dynamic range and those felt really good too. I'm not an expert and get there is a big aspect of deliberate choice in these matters (I'm not gonna complain that Ryoji Ikeda has too much top end or something lol - although his stuff does sound great to me too!), but the mixing and mastering on Squarepusher's albums after Ultravisitor - especially Just A Souvenir, d'Demonstrator, Ufabulum and Damogen Furies - doesn't seem to work in their favour for me.

I'm increasingly finding this to be true now, and think it may be why it's hard for me to get into. It's fine if I don't listen to other music beforehand, but if other really nicely mixed / mastered albums have generally been on in the day, the new one sounds thin - particularly the breaks for some reason. If in a good mood I can overlook it, but on other occasions can't. It's probably better in this regard than the series of releases after Hello Everything (until Be Up A Hello, which was a nice return to warmth even in its most extreme moments) but I still find the mixing choices or overall impact weirdly flabby. Strangely the solo bass tracks have grown on me a lot though - and they don't suffer from this. Does he master his own stuff? It's quite strange going even further back to Go Plastic and realising how massive that sounded. Of course all of this is likely deliberate, and obviously my subjective uninformed take, but I'd find the music a lot easier to get into with more of a meaty overall sheen. Even the Shobaleader One could have relaly kicked ass with more upfront, rich mixing/mastering, like some weird fantasy r'n'b record.

This was too harsh but can’t seem to edit it now. It’s a lovely album.

lol I really wish ‘Enbounce’ wasn’t the second track. Not one of the best things I’ve ever heard from him. Both this and Be Up A Hello seem to put their worst first. But actually Be Up A Hello’s openers are a bit more interesting than these. Reviews are calling the second one here euphoric and amazing so clearly something wrong in my listening. I do like some of the mysterious opening and ending chords. Am finding the album great in some places but quite uneven compared to the last, rhythmic programming and sound not as meaty as that one, nowhere near as good as Go Plastic / Ultravisitor but better than everything after Hello Everything until Be Up. My favourite thing he’s done more recently is that NTS Mix; much more satisfying than this. This is just a dumb opinion, if you’re loving it then that’s all be better.

Sorry, I was talking about the "classic drum machine" sounds on Enbounce, but couldn't edit my post a third time. I get they're a staple of dance music & it's just me tired of them (in many conexts), but it's also that when Squarepusher uses them sometimes it sounds thin and dull to me, although Be Up A Hello was fantastic. Here it's not as bad Shobaleader One, where the 909 sounds especially lame, but still isn't my favourite. The breaks are fine you're quite right!

Yeah, apart from three or four tracks not feeling it so much. Really surprised at the warm reception indeed, though like you am happy others are enjoying. Be Up A Hello was the first Squarepusher I enjoyed in a while - in fact it was really, really good - so I was perhaps a bit overhyped. For me it's less the thin sounds (it sounds warmer than the bunch before Be Up A Hello) but just the chords and melodies aren't my thing where they do show up in an overt way, nor do I like those classic drum sounds others seem to. I find Enbounce particularly garish and awful and the guitar tracks just aren't my thing.

Glad to see this consensus! After a few albums where the mixing and mastering seemed really weird and thin to me (and hard to listen to), I also found Be Up A Hello a really nice surprise. Great mix and punch.

Yeah, "OK" seems about right on further reflection for this one. I mean, he's the artist and should do what he wants, but I think it would be good if he changed up the formula a bit more. His two before this were really much more interesting though, which is why I had high hopes. You should check them out if you haven't already...!

I hadn't seen this here. It's not my favourite Robert Rich album, but then I do enjoy it along with most of his other albums. What do you make of it, WATMM? Travelers' Cloth | Robert Rich (bandcamp.com)

I think this is my favourite interview with them yet... https://nialler9.com/autechre-conversation-about-music-art-funk-and-emotion-interview/

I find this a lot more interesting than some other new albums I've checked out lately. He has a more adventurous sense of harmony and texturing than what many seem to be settling for at the moment (in the more well known electronic realm.) It is a bit scattershot, it's true, but I think I could get used to that - it feels like something you could grow into rather bored of.

Yeah, I feel I get it less and less every time I listen. But in a room7 F760 remains pretty intriguing and I can enjoy that one. Some lovely imaginative twists and turns, in a kind of cool laid back way too. What you said in the rest of your message may be true; these seem to be a step back from Collapse E.P, so maybe come from a different era. But then Cheetah seemed a step back from pretty much anything after 1995, so maybe it's just the way he makes things during some periods these days.

I do miss being surprised by his new music. I think sometimes friends' take on a track is quite a good honest barometer on how you're really feeling about stuff, and where it stands in relation to earlier tracks. Like, I want to like his new music obviously. But I was playing the new E.P to a friend open to a lot of music, and had convinced myself I liked it, but they were kind of "it's ok." And then I put Mt Saint michel mix+St. michaels mount on and it was instantly obvious this was on another level. It's not just about extremity or "ambition", because other friendlier tracks also elicited the same response. What I really value is imagination, and to me his earlier stuff is just way more imaginative. Collapse E.P is the exception here, though. That was super special to me, very beautiful and intricate and imaginative. Maybe they'll be more like that coming - but it's his music and I respect he does what he wants.

Not as experimental and more afro-beat / funky, but I just found that this kind of epically scratched an 1996 Autechre itch... ▶︎ Hackers | Ivor Guest & Robert Logan | Robert Logan (bandcamp.com)

This is a wonderful letter for those who want to learn more about the guitar, it seems...

Yeah, it seems to be a thing. I know not everyone will see certain releases that way, and genuinely happy for them if they enjoy all the material - but I kinda have to periodically play his best / most beloved tracks again to reminded myself how good he can be. I also circle back to something like Cheetah to try to get into it again; I hope it'll hit the spot in a different mood or place but it's always underwhelming. Even with chill stuff you want some detailing, development, a bit of mystery or a slight bit of harmonic tension. I'm getting so tired of hearing certain sequences and drum sounds from Richard in this era, for eg...over and over again. Collapse was very cool though, an unexpected consistently high effort work across all the tracks involved! I forget about Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 sometimes too; it has three amazing tracks (the first and last especially) but some of the others feel a bit underdeveloped and throwaway too imho. OK enough negativity lol. He's totally loaded and has many, many adoring fans so all is well. The hype will live on no matter what he does. And I know I genuinely want to enjoy all these new efforts by Mr. Twin. His best amaze me, but he's not the most consistently quality guy around these days.

Yeah, I like the other main synth line that pops in at various places from the start, but that ending one that pops is super lame lol. Not just being picky, and he can do what he wants with his music, but it just feels like such a disappointing and deflating few bites haha. Also @Hugh Mughnus I’m with you on that comparison!

This lead track is okay. Quite pretty, sounds really thick n warm, but not as interesting as most tracks even on Syro, and definitely not Collapse E.P. I think it’s because I was hoping for a little twist or turn at the end (nothing mental, it could stay ambient - just something of a development.) I like chilled Aphex but I guess I wanted something a bit more surprising.

I'm genuinely happy for others who are getting into this, but just tried listening all the way through again and still didn't enjoy it at all lol (apart from the obviously fantastic mixing and great punchy overall sound.) But apart from that it seems quite limited, like he's always in the same scales or something, and too many dissatisfying moments where I hoped for some payoff but something meandered into nothing. tbh I even prefer Tim Exile's 'Listening Tree' for electronic musician now does singing. I know it got a lot of hate and it's not my favourite thing ever but it has plenty of imagination and surprise, that's for sure.