For just about every artist who has a signature style, and makes more than a few albums, a bit of repetition is inevitable. Sooner or later, they will return to familiar territory. That's the case in Squarepusher's latest, "Hello Everything," which sounds a lot like his earlier work from the late 1990s.

But surprisingly, it doesn't feel like he's been here before. Instead it feels like a nostalgic mishmash of sampling and bass, but with an exuberant feeling that wasn't there in his previous few albums. This is Tom Jenkinson in a fun mood, settling back into familiar beats.

It opens with the slightly wobbly, energetic beats of "Hello Meow," and meanders down a string of more upbeat melodies, using all sorts of weird samples and beats -- the sounds of buzzes, bubbles, sharp drum machines and woozy jazzy downtempo, all sounding very catchy in an offbeat way.

Things change dramatically in the middle -- there are a pair of unabashedly spacey songs, which sound a lot like the background music for a sci-fi film. Then Squarepusher reluctantly switches to a more grounded sound, with swooshy synth, sharp beats, and fast-paced electronic soundscapes, before endin with the weirdly soothing ten-minute "Orient Orange."

Anyone expecting "Hello Everything" to build on the sound of "Ultravisitor" is going to be VERY disappointed -- only one song on here, "The Modern Bass Guitar," sounds even vaguely like it. Instead, the music sounds much more like his earlier work like "Music is Rotted One Note" and "Selection Sixteen."

It may not be a new sound, but it fits Squarepusher like a comfortable old sweater. He seems to be dabbling in various styles that he enjoys, just because he enjoys them. "Hello Everything" shoots from from sleepy downtempo to ambient to razor-edged techno, and it fits together like a slightly disjointed, but colourful puzzle.

In fact, it's actually kind of fun -- it sounds lighthearted in some of the early tracks, although he noodles a bit too much in the middle. Songs like the effervescent, fizzing "Bubble Life" make a sharp contrast to the rat-a-tat of "Planetarium," but Squarepusher wrings complex melodies out of the simplest samples and rhythms, wrapping them in layer of colourful sound.

Squarepusher backslides in a good way in "Hello Everything," revisiting his older sounds with enjoyable results. It's not exactly new, but it's certainly enjoyable.

I love Squarepusher, and I've been anticipating this release for some time now. The good news is this is a great Squarepusher album. He seems to be back in late 90s form for the majority of the album. Several of the songs remind me of songs from Hard Normal Daddy, based more around jazz and early 90s techno than some of the later releases. Chances are that if your interested in Squarepusher already, you'll like this album.

The bonus cd was a disappointment for me. It's a 3 inch cd, with tracks Melt 1, Melt 3, Melt 4, Melt 5 and Melt 6. These appear to be variations of the song Vacuum Garden from the main disc. Normally I'm all for remixes, but these tracks bored me. The original is very spacy, with a slow build over the course of the song that never really goes anywhere. On the album it serves as a transition and doesn't feel out of place. On the bonue disc, however, this slow build only leads into another slow build with the slightest of variations. Maybe the differences would stand out a little more with repeated listens, but I don't foresee a time that I'll have the desire to play that disc again.

Unless you're a completist that just has to own the bonus disc, I'd advise to skip the limited edition and go for the standard version.

Yeah!!! Tommy J. is back and in full throttle effect with "hello Everything". Some have accused the pusher for retreading old ground and not breaking any new ground on this release. I say so what. This stuff is still fresh and a very welcome return--exiting as can be.

"Hello" can be viewed as Tommy's showcase album, much like the cover that adorns this release, the music is a display of the versatility and ability of one of the most amazing musicians of our time. This is his most accessable and highly listenable release, not to say that it's watered down in any way whatsoever. It's experimental in places but not as extreme as the awesome noise fest that was "Ultravisitor". The melodies are bright and popping here too, which is funny coming from a guy who, maybe five or so years ago said he was through with melody altogether in a magazine interview. Well, I'm sure glad that he changed his mind.

This album is a fine mix of the electonic and organic and proves that at Tommy J. is still a force to be dealt with, with over a decade of excellent releases (and lots of 'em) under his belt. So don't sleep on this fine and fantastic audio delight.

As i go through life i have noticed a pattern in relation to artisits that end up having a huge influence on me. This pattern is one of patience and openmindedness. When my dad bought me highway revisited dylan album when i was 15 i listened to it a few times then basically put it on the shelf for several years before reapproaching it again. When i reapproached it it quickly became one of my favorite albums of all time to this day.

The same thing has happened with me and squarepusher throughout the years beginning in 2004 when i purchased ultravisitior. I had heard some of jenkinsosns stuff at a freinds and liked it but i didnt think it was amazing (or rather i didnt have the musical knowledge to unlock the contents yet). i sold or gave away ultravisitor a few months after purchasing it..I then purchased "hello everything" in 2006 when it came out and really liked it although i didnt give half of the tracks a chance and eventually sold it.. Now 7 years or so later i have come to not only love all of squarepushers albums i now think his whole musical approach is amazing and so versatile..

i absolutely love this album as it seems to not only encompass all of jenkinsins styles to date but it makes them even more sophisticated and in essence adult. this album is verty intricate and is the perfect balance of 'everything" as the title suggests--the album cover is a statement in itself making it the most clasic album cover i have seen.

the track circle wave is hauntingly beautuful and i feel in the near future i will cover this song on a regular basis--

the ambient track is just downright a

'mindwarp psychedellic adventur with a constant decending and ascending drone (track 5)- the track "modern bass guitar-- takes his signiture drum and bass sound and tweaks it to the next level-- i strongly feel jenkinson is getting better and better and is constantly evolving-- the new album ufabulum is prob my favorite electronic thing he has done yet--

THIS ALBUM HAS IT ALL AND IT IS A MUST HAVE--

Somewhere along the line after the release of his Music Is Rotted One Note album, Tom Jenkinson lost me a bit. In the time since then, he's released a whole shedload of music, and while he's certainly put out a fair amount of great work, he's also seemingly not a very good editor of his own material, bogging down albums with too many filler tracks and needless diversions. Part of the problem could possibly simply be that the market is a lot more crowded than when he started, but with recent releases it seems that Jenkinson has largely been going through the motions.

Although it's just as scattered sounding as several of his past albums, Hello Everything seems to be cut from a slightly different cloth. Perhaps it's the more playful album artwork throwing off my perception, but it really does seem like Jenkinson is simply allowing himself to have a bit more fun on his newest effort. His insane bass playing is back and prominent on most tracks, and in addition to slamming several tracks with completely wicked beats, he manages to throw a few curves out that work as well. "Hello Meow" opens the album with some seriously infectious melodies (dueled-up on vibes and synths) some chopped-up Amen breaks, and some of the best bass work from Jenkinson in a long time.

From there, the album is all over the map. "Theme From Sprite" goes downright lounge as slappy bass and guitar mingle with chimes and live drumming while "Bubble Life" is some sly mixture of past tracks, throwing together squealing analogue synths, tinny beats, and more funky as hell bass. "Vacuum Garden" arrives about halfway through the disc and veers into complete left field as layers of manipulated sine waves make for a six minute slice of eerie drone. "Circlewave 2" is one of the bigger surprises, as Jenkinson mixes heavily-reverbed live drums and keyboard drones with super expressive bass and guitar playing that sounds almost Morricone-inspired.

A large part of the rest of the effort is Jenkinson working the drill and bass angle to varying degree. "Planetarium" is dark as heck and howls with a deep analogue bass and squiggling melodies over the top that keep the mood slightly lighter while "Plotinus" builds into one of the more trippy and dense things that he's ever done, with layers of cascading synths and bass work spilling all over one another while rapid-fire beats shell the surroundings. The eleven-minute closing track of "Orient Orange" is sort of a good summary of the album as a whole, even though the more experimental piece doesn't really have much in common with the rest of the album, as it has its moments, but could have used a touch of editing. That said, despite the inconsistencies, Hello Everything is one of the best things that Jenkinson has done in some time. If you're a fan of his work, it's well worth seeking out.

(from almost cool music reviews)