by John Bush
The debut full-length from Squarepusher is quite a jazzy affair, especially for an album appearing on the Aphex Twin's Rephlex label. It's no less experimental than the sonic terrorism employed by the Aphex Twin himself, but Feed Me Weird Things keys on Tom Jenkinson's experience as a bassist. A perfect example is &Windscale 2,& which begins and ends with a bass/percussion line rooted firmly in funk; the track gradually morphs into a playful but complex jungle cut with more percussion in 30 seconds than any Aphex Twin track (excepting possibly &Hangable Auto Bulb&). Elsewhere, Jenkinson uses atmospherics and distortion that wouldn't sound out of place on Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 1, but the dense jungle percussion makes this a difficult, yet ultimately rewarding album.