Shobaleader One - Elektrac FLAC

To each their own, but I never found Squarepusher's strictly-electronic music any good, mostly because I've struggled to discover any melody buried beneath the noise. And what with his flashy-light-show Ufabulum and dark, edgy Damogen Furies, I feel like I've fallen out with Mr. Jenkinson's music. Besides, Aphex Twin always did the twisted drill 'n' bass stuff better... though I will admit that Go Plastic had its moments and, to some degree, the early Buzz Caner record from his Chaos A.D. moniker. Having said that, a lot of fans listening to Squarepusher since the '90s couldn't stand his Shobaleader One record, d'Demonstrator. (Could the fact that Tom pulled in the reins and made this relaxed album for his girlfriend have anything to do with the sour taste in the collective mouth?) I, on the other hand, loved it. Groovy, melodic, and featuring (*gasp*) vocals, it's the fusion lounge music of the future; one record of his I've kept consistently returning to for the past several years. It saddened me to think he wasn't doing anything more with the Shobaleader group... until I came across their live rendition of "Cooper's World" on YT. And then discovering this album thereafter!

This is an exciting return for the Square, BUT... this live album is not without its flaws either. First, the good: half of these tracks breathe new life into the old material, with the other band members more than up to the task of performing these musical monsters. From the opening reggae-like swing of "The Swifty" to the hyperactive "E8 Boogie" and especially the flat-out fun "Cooper's World," old-school 'Pusher fans will have a blast hearing these live renditions. On the other hand, the band members slip into self-indulgent wanking at times, too-- "Don't Go Plastic" and "Anstromm Feck 4" are examples. Also, the second half of the show feels rushed, notably on "Megazine," an otherwise groovy song ruined by off-timing. The drummer sounds uncomfortable with the tempo, just chugging through it. (Considering the group performed and recorded that song together already on the d'Demonstrator album, to hear them play it live like this is embarrassing.) Personal niggle: why pick "Delta-V" from Just a Souvenir out of all the songs on that record? Was that really the best song you could pick from the album to be played in a live setting?

That's the bothersome part of this album: it's split between crowd-pleasers and band-pleasers. The former for our benefit, the latter for theirs. Yes, they are extremely gifted musicians, the whole lot of 'em, but they don't need to flex it. (When they do flex it, like the guitar player does on "Deep Fried Pizza," you roll your eyes and skip the rest.) In that regard, the setlist could've been handled better. Yet, the most exciting part listening to Elektrac for the first time is wondering how these songs will turn out... favorites of yours and mine never heard live before! Just to even consider the possibilities of songs this band could perform from here on out makes my ol' heart skip a beat! And that's enough for me to hope that Tom keeps on with the Shobaleader One group. It's not a perfect live record, but it's getting somewhere and I'll be the first to buy (here's hoping) Elektrac 2.

Just can it with the look-at-me wankery next time, guys.

Recommended tracks:
"The Swifty" / "Cooper's World" / "Iambic 5 Poetry" / "Squarepusher Theme" / "E8 Boogie" / "Journey to Reedham"

My setlist wishlist:
"Sarcacid Part 1" / "A Real Woman" / "Male Pill Part 13" / "Panic Massive" / "On Fire Again"