Squarepusher Presents Shobaleader One - d'Demonstrator FLAC album

If you were to ask me to name three wonderful aspects about this album, besides the cover art, cushioned by perhaps the finest of satin, the thin slipcase, the imaginary names of the band members and the play on Max Planck, those would be the repeated cymbal hits in the great "Laser Rock", the humour, which strictly is restricted to the section three minutes and twelve seconds into "Megazine", and last but certainly not least the funky introduction in "Endless Night", which got locked in my mind and which I believe will remain there to infinite repetition. A very honourable mention shall be awarded to the adorable guitar squelch a minute and forty-two seconds into the same track. I have to admit though that I tend to skip "Into the Blue", as the vocal melody feels like a bit of a stretch in a sweet and sticky kind of sense.

If your a fan of Squarepusher you might agree that his releases after Ultravisitor haven't been all that great, Hello Everything had a few good tracks and Just a Souvenir was where it started to go wrong. This album is just plain awful, its got a slight jazz feel to it but the vocals are just drone on like some mainstream auto-tuned bullshit. Not worth the time to even listen to, he may have slightly bounced back with Ufabulum but I think its too late for Jenkinson to save his music.

Just out of curiosity, if you thought Ufabulum was a step back in the right direction (but not enough) what did you think of Damogen Furies?

I hated this album too but you shouldn't talk in such fatalistic terms about any artist or their output, especially one as diverse and experimental as Squarepusher. Ufabulum was a great album, he doesn't need to 'save his music', he just needs to keep making it and when he does, some of us will like it and some will hate it because music is subjective. I thought Zmachines was one of the best things he's ever done, I'm sure many disagree, just like a lot of people think apples are better than oranges, neither party is right at the end of the day.

Try harder with Ufabulum, perhaps listen to the KCRW Session to experience a selection of the album in rawer form. I would recommend to get the limited/deluxe edition of the album for the extra tracks.

One needs an open mind before diving into Shobaleader One's debut...Squarepusher doing chillout and downtempo R&B? And SINGING? Who'dve thought? But...surprisingly, it works. Now if only I can figure out what the hell 'Pusher is singing...A worthy follow-up and a definite evolution of the sounds from "Just a Souvenir", to be sure.

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While I've been a huge fan of Mr. Jenkinson's for years, I've found myself less than enthusiastic about his last few releases. The musical ideas are still there it's just that the production has been on a downward trajectory. The mix on this is shrill and tinny. It lacks punch and the 909 sounds like its running through the cheapest digital distortion available.I actually like some of the RnB influences on this album; Dude just needs to hire a mix engineer or someone whose ears aren't totally blown.

The vocals annoy the hell out of me, the mastering is terrible and the percussion sounds awful. An experiment gone wrong. On first listen you wonder why on earth Squarepusher would approve something so disappointing but then after weeks of reflection you realise that this album was just Shobaleader dipping their toes into a pool of ideas.This may definitely not be Tom's best release and we can safely say that he works best as a one-man-band. However, I have great expectations for future releases and perhaps in a few years this record will be better received when Tom and his crew of metalheads actually put their minds to it and release something great. Either that or Tom now cries himself to sleep at night in the same way we assume RDJ does over drukQs.Good ideas, bad composition.

Drukqs is his best album.

Regarding the last sentence, why not admit that you do not understand "Drukqs", instead of formulating an attack?

One of the more unusual releases in Mr. Jenkinson's discography [and that's saying a lot (those who have listened to "Ultravisitor" and "Music is Rotted One Note" might agree)] in other ways, this is the most "conventional" record Tom has released. Let me start with the weird:Sonically, this album sounds digital...really digital. For instance, the distortion effects that are frequently used sound like something that was applied in Sony Acid 6. This might turn some listeners off, but I think this notion was well intended by the artist...he is one of the "gods" of modern electronic music.Some of these tracks are simply beautiful and genuine...check robecc's review of the same album...he his the nail on the head. I don't think much else needs to be iterated. Weird and intriguing...this album fits perfectly in the warp catalog and should not be skipped over. Don't be fooled by pitchfork's review.

IMHO this record needs launching some sense of humour before hitting "play". "Do you know Squarepusher?" - if you do then you should know he likes to have a good laugh here and there. Squarepusher playing with R&B ? Mixing death metal stabs/chords with R&B/pop vibes ? ALRIGHT ! He does it so well that I have no further questions. Plus, you could look at Shobaleader as his sentimental come back to his conventional-musician-bass-playing in groups as a youth. The many listeners, the more interpretations, right. I mean, overall, personally, I wouldn't sit down and analyse this album bit by bit - I just enjoy his another output with grin on my face. I think it's whether you just "dig" it or not. The Q&A linked to at his site might help a bit understanding the project. Especially to anyone who heard the album totally unprepared and went "wtf, where's my 'come on my selector part 2' ??" "Genius" ? Yeah ! Genius on vacation, I'd say :D

dude, where did I say this album is "genious" ? lol, if you don't get it - don't try to, just move on, cheers.

since when does fast bpm, jungle-ish, roland-synth driven music deserve to be labeled as "genious"? This album is as genious as any other squarepusher album. Your premise is false. Some of the most simple (in terms of arrangement and composition) tracks are genious, but it is not their spatial or linear complexity that makes them genious(obviously), but their chord progression or melodic flow(wow, can that be true?). Nowdays, almost every sqp fan crys how he "used to make mental dnb and superjungle music".I think he is far ahead of "us" with this one. Vacation, my ass!

Some of this was alright, but 3 songs specifically were terrible. Endless night, megazine, and maximum planck were pointless, poorly arranged and engineered (not that I could do better) and certainly not of the calibre I expect from a TomJ project. Into the blue, abstract lover and cryptic motion however are catchy and well arranged/produced/mastered albeit they are popish and mainstream sounding. The vocal effects remind me of 2 songs by Luke Vibert off his Rhythm album - Sparky is a Retard and Eleventy One.

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Let me be the first - at least, on this forum - to say, Mr Tom Jenkinson, what a fine fine album you've made here - particularly Into The Blue, which had me and my four year old up dancing; it's quite a beautiful track, brought a lump to my throat, and (yes, i know tis a cliche to say so about music that, sadly, unjustifiably, won't make it near the charts) it would be No 1 in an alternative universe - we bopped around the room to Megazine afterwards for dessert....again, many congrats TJ....spacey music for cool living rooms....