Ultravisitor by Squarepusher
by Ian Simmons
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Squarepusher is one of the more prolific electronica artists working today, coming up with at least nine albums over the last eight years, plus a whole variety of spin-off material. His work is varied, eclectic, eccentric and - some would say - maddeningly unfocussed. Now this is out, he's heading off to play with the London Sinfonietta, having a go at the modern classical repertoire. Part of this eclecticism/inconsistency is because as well as being an uncompromising electronica creator, he is also a virtuoso jazz bassist, and much of his work involves a tension between the jazz and the electronic. In earlier albums like Busy, Curious, Thirsty, this tended to be expressed as a tension between the two approaches within the music itself. Increasingly, though, different tracks on his albums have veered between the two facets, and so it is with Ultravisitor. I find Squarepusher's approach to the dichotomy far less appealing than that of Spring Heel Jack, another electronica/drum and bass creator with an interest in jazz. Whereas Spring Heel Jack's recent trio of albums on Thirsty Ear Mass/Amassed/Live saw the band working with a greatly expanded line-up of jazz, rock and electronic musicians to produce rich and surprising work, the results of Squarepusher's crossover are far less satisfying. Some tracks manage a balance, but others veer worryingly towards 70s technoflash and fret-wanking self-indulgence. C Town Smash and An Arched Pathway are both bursts of Jaco Pastorius-esque show-off solo bass virtuosity, accompanied by suspiciously artificial-sounding audience cheers. This may be ironic, or just self-aggrandisement, but either way I could well do without it. Other tracks, such as the delicate Every Day I Love, are more successful, but overall the disc has a ragged and unfinished feel. There are triumphs here, but they are overshadowed by lapses that threaten a return to the very darkest days of music. With the classical dabblings, electronics, technoflash riffing and self-indulgent soloing, Squarepusher could be shaping up to be a Rick Wakeman for the 21st century. Stop it now before we have to kill you!
