Bleep

Squarepusher keeps us on our toes by dropping new EP Lamental hot on the heels of his recent full-length Be Up A Hello. Whereas that album was full of whirlwind breakbeats and tense atmospheres, this new set of tunes contains some of the stateliest and most emotive production that Squarepusher has presented us with in some time.

On Lamental, Squarepusher shifts the focus away from rhythm and towards harmony. Indeed, two of the five tracks here contain little or no percussion. While the title of ‘Detroit People Mover’ may intimate an energetic club cut, the music itself offers nothing of the sort. With its fizzing keys and wistful chord progressions this track actually has more in common with the cerebral film-scoring work of Angelo Badalamenti and Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never). The same can be said of Lamental’s closing number ‘Midi Sans Frontieres’, though the occasional kick-drum interjections and heavy wash of reverb also points us in the direction of Lorenzo Senni.

Even when beats are introduced Lamental is a more measured version of Squarepusher's style. This isn't to say that you couldn't drop ‘Midi Sans Frontieres (Avec Batterie)’ and ‘The Paris Track’ in a DJ set - the rolling breaks of the former and latter’s perky stomp, in fact, lend themselves very well to the dancefloor. However, you never get the sense that these tracks will pull the rug out from under your feet, their elegant synths marching on with the same command that one finds in Jean-Michel Jarre’s best work.

Squarepusher’s Lamental EP is a ruminative delight from a consistent innovator.