Ufabulum, good, bad or meh?

[Guest I Am Beyond Human]

So in other words it has happy and sad tracks?

 

To me the whole album is sad because all the "imagery" I get is of Squarepusher looking pathetic with that inverted LED diaper on his forehead.

That's fine. I'm not here to change anyone's mind about anything. I will say that throughout 4001 there is a hidden recording of him screaming into a microphone and he says "I love you" at the end. You won't be able to hear it unless you expand your mind to how you perceive the music, which is subjectively important. I like the idea that Squarepusher loves me because of the intensity at which I appreciate and focus on his music though.

[Hugh Mughnus]

Sorry but I have to say I agree with this guy.... Ufabulum is an incredible album! It would be 10x the album it is if it wasn't mastered like dog shit, but it's a great album nonetheless....

[LimpyLoo]

Sorry but I have to say I agree with this guy.... Ufabulum is an incredible album! It would be 10x the album it is if it wasn't mastered like dog shit, but it's a great album nonetheless....

 

I've said many times that I really like it. It's one of the 5 or so CD's I play regularly in the car.

 

It's just got way too much hi-end.

[Friendly Foil]

Music: 10/10

Mixing: 2/10

[Guest CraniumXII]

Music: 10/10

Mixing: 2/10

[Lianne]

Yes. I'm surprised we've been so tolerant of the mixing/production/sounds of his last few albums. If you show any track from any of these to a person who hasn't been following him for a while, they are pretty WTF happened to him!?!? (well, at least that's happened to me when I've shared with folk who used to follow Warp.) I could deal with the new cheesy-ish melodies and trancey chords and whatever else if it all kicked sonic ass. Sometimes it does, a bit - and the newest album isn't as bad as the previous three. But geez... is this really the same guy who produced My Red Hot Car and DYKS?!

[Silent Member]

Maybe his eventide orville is really a piece of shit.

[LimpyLoo]

Maybe his eventide orville is really a piece of shit.

 

It's not so much that. It's that it was mastered exploiting "Fletcher-Munson" (aka equal-loudness contours) to be as loud as possible, and then squeezed pretty hard with a brickwall limiter so that the already-harsh frequencies hurt even more.

 

 

As you can see Fletcher-Munson shows that some frequences are perceived as louder than others: the ear is most sensitive to the frequency 2khz (also known as "the pain frequency", and for good reason). I bet someone $5usd that if you looked at Ufabulum on a frequency plot then there'll be WAY more 2khz, 5khz, 10-12khz and general "air" than his older records (even the digital-sounding Just a Souvenir or the EP's from that time).

 

The album could have been EQ'd to sound like his older dustier-sounding stuff by simply not hyping harsh frequencies and even rolling off some hi-end So anyway, don't blame the desk.

 

(oh, and remember to take it easy on the 2khz when you're making records)

[Guest yikes]

ironic that he is doing all this press and explanation for what is to me an ok album and really overblown presentation.

if you showed the young hard daddy this stage show and album I really wonder what he would have said about it in 97

it's humorless

[Ifeelspace]

He even looks quite bored talking about it.

 

I must say, after listening to this album on repeat for a few weeks after it was released, I have had no desire to return to it.

[mcbpete]

I actually cringe whenever Unreal Square comes onto my mp3 player now - I never cringe at a Squarepusher song, it feels so wrong.

[LimpyLoo]

I actually cringe whenever Unreal Square comes onto my mp3 player now - I never cringe at a Squarepusher song, it feels so wrong.

 

 

yeah honestly I "came around" on this album but it literally hurts my ears

 

and "Unreal Square" is like a chiptune Dre lead (and I mean that in the worst possible way)

[YEK]

i hear sp will be doing a track on the new daft punk and they are going to have glowing hats...

[syd syside]

Just A Souvenir is amazing. Other last two albums have been less impressive simply because I think they felt a bit more forced. JAS was loose and witty.

[baph]

 

I actually cringe whenever Unreal Square comes onto my mp3 player now - I never cringe at a Squarepusher song, it feels so wrong.

 

yeah honestly I "came around" on this album but it literally hurts my ears

 

and "Unreal Square" is like a chiptune Dre lead (and I mean that in the worst possible way)

It really doesn't compare favorably to the soviet Dre lead in the exploding psychology

[Friendly Foil]

Something tells me this album wasn't made for headphones. Sounds quite amazing on speakers.

[Guest myosis]

i always skip Unreal Square. can't deal with it. it's like a bad u-ziq impression.

[may be rude]

SP found new and awesome things to do with sound and integrated those into a beautiful primer on intense future trials and victories of humanity. vey nice!

[Friendly Foil]

i always skip Unreal Square. can't deal with it. it's like a bad u-ziq impression.

What

[may be rude]

seriously, that song is delicious

[Berk]

4001 is alright

 

but seriously what the fuck happened to this guy :(

 

where are the fucking vibes

 

909 bassdrums digitally distorted to farts hell no

[awesomeperson]

He got paid, that's what this album was about.

[beerwolf]

After swerving this on release I really like this album, been playing it a lot of late. I don't make music, so some of the technical gripes that some of you have don't really register for me. The KRCW digi version is pretty good too. I mean it's a lot better than all the 2006-2010 stuff which I can't really get my head round at all (well I can get my head round it, I just don't want to lol).

 

I have to skip Unreal Square though, but the rest is just tip-top.

[Tricone RC]

Loved this album when it was first out. Unreal Square is one of my favourites unlike with you lot. The first half of that track is one of the best bits of the album IMO. First and last tracks are probably the best ones overall

 

Unreal Square and Dark Steering are, I guess, Tom's take on dubstep. Not a fan of Dark Steering though which seems annoyingly cheesy to me

[pissflaps]

What do you think Tom will go for next? I have no idea at this point, how will his next release sound like.