Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is an interesting musical experience, because..., December 24, 2004
...it takes sizzling beats and drills them into your skull. There is some excellent musicianship happening on this album and only a couple of tracks fall a bit flat.
The best tracks for me are:
'Coopers World' - great way to start the album and the 'orchestral' feel of the development of the initial theme is very convincing
'Beep Street' - the synth washes over the jabbing beats are very engaging - great track!
'Rustic Raver' - the bassy synth beats accompanying the 'acoustic' ones are amazing
'Chin Hippy' - warped!!!!
'Fat Controller' - Starts like Autechre, changes into Coil-like industrial briefly, warps back into Autechre, then becomes its own weird blend of acid jazz and bleepy electronica - astonishing!
'Vic Acid' - one big climax!
'Male Pill Part 13' - luv it 'cos it's so jaunty and catchy. Has some great electric-piano work as it develops
'Rebus' - almost ambient - a fitting end to an almost consistently engaging musical journey
Having dabbled in jazz-fusion in my younger days - I am still a big fan of the Miles Davis 'Bitches Brew' fusion period and like the odd listen to Soft Machine, Brand X, Ian Carr and Nucleus and their ilk now and then - this album has a strange pull on me, despite my greater interest these days in the more dark ambient, or 'industrial' styles of electronica.
If you like this album, go right now to <www.psy-harmonics.com.au> and buy "F#c* Piece" by 'Nam Shub of Enki'. This album is like 'Hard Normal Daddy' on acid! An aural extravaganza that has a warped humour and 'driven' style that brings a huge smile to my face!
The above website also has a number of excellent Australian techno/ambient/electronica etc releases, as well as some other imported stuff not readily available elsewhere. See my review of Aphex Twin's 'Richard D James Album' for some suggestions.
I don't know any other Squarepusher albums, so can't comment on the Squarepusher 'style(s)', but I think I might sample some more... This album is well worth the outlay!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
most approachable, November 15, 2003
I thought I knew a thing or two about drum & bass until I was introduced to the tune "Beep Street." That song was my first taste of Tom Jenkinson, and I haven't been the same since. While I own almost all the Squarepusher albums, I'd have to say that this one is the easiest to digest. Where on some albums, Jenkinson can go off the deep end with music concrete that could make John Cage say, "I've had enough," this album shows him using his talents to give props to the jazz and fusion community. The results are wickedly ingenuitive, intelligent songs that can be understood in jazzy musical contexts (and actually groovy and catchy). Fans of--or creators of--music like Weather Report, Yellowjackets, even Chick Corea should definitely do themselves a favor and hear fusion for the digital age. I don't know what to say about the dance aspect of this music. In Chicago, I will never see people dancing to stuff like this; if, however, in other places in the world people have a more open mind as to what has a groove, then more power to them. (Actually, in Chicago, I have never met a person who owns this album. Remind me to go to all the jazzers I went to college with and shove this album down their throats.)
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The current Squarepusher champion, October 7, 2003
Strangely, Hard Normal Daddy is probably Squarepusher's best album not because of what its got, but what its lacking. For probably the first and only time in his entire career, Hard Normal Daddy actually shows signs of restraint and actual consideration to composition and songs. This is not to take away from the stunning brilliance of the jazz indulgent Music Is Rotted One Note or the boarderline pyschotic sounds of Go Plastic. But when you strip him of his little mindsex gimicks, Jenkinson really does show of that not only does he have a knack for writting songs but writting really good ones too.Like a more focused Feed Me Weird Things, Hard Normal Daddy runs the gamut of musical sounds and influences as he shows of that he loves old dub and electro as much as he loves the sound of his own drum programing. First thing that should be noticed by all is that most of the rough production edges of Feed Me Weird Things are gone. Replacing them are much crisper, fuller, and far more smoother sounds and melodies then before. Secondly, his blow your mind and ears frantic drum programing is actually toned down a bit. Sure its jawdroppingly fast and complex, but it doesn't go overboard which some of the tracks on Weird Things had. The biggest shocker of all on Hard Normal Daddy is the suprising amount of melody and hooks found on the album. There are a suprisingly large amount of catchy tunes that lay ontop of the drum programing and hyperspeed bassplaying that actually make Hard Normal Daddy a blast to listen to. Even on some of the hardcore drum n' bass tracks(some of the shorter of the rank as some of my favorite Squarepusher tracks) are still melodically packed and fun to listen to. The whole CD finally displays some consistancy from a man who normal has one or two stinkers(if not more) per album. For all the characteristics normally present in a Squarepusher album, HND is surpisingly lacking in them, for better or worse. Still I can see why Jenkinson started pushing his music in a different direction. With Hard Normal Daddy he really did push his evolution into a corner that would require something of a radical change to keep from stagnation. Whether that change is jazz fusion or a turn towards LFO inspired drill n' bass, Hard Normal Daddy will always represent a high point for Squarepusher's career and a highlight in the drum n' bass comunity. It doesn't define the genre like Roni Size's New Forms or Goldie's Timeless, but its still an exceptional work and probably his best yet.
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