On his eighth album Go Plastic (2001) Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) experiments happily again. He plays with the listener's ears, as well as with expectations. The first track My Red Hot Car, for example, starts with a bass line that is reminiscent of 2-step / speed garage, the English dance style that was equally popular around 2000. However, the distorted vocals quickly make it clear that something
… else is going on here, after which more and more effects and weird noises follow, to eventually turn into twisted 'old school' jungle beats. Throughout Go Plastic, Squarepusher continues to work in this way, with a central place for those old style breakbeats from a bygone era. Freaking around with strange noises is sometimes disorienting and confusing, with an almost obscure part in Greenways Trajectory as a bizarre highlight. But there is probably some idea behind this apparent chaos. You don't listen to Go Plastic for the catchy 'songs', it is fascinating. (IV)more
