Hard Normal Daddy

Part drum \'n\' bass, part jazz-fusion, Squarepusher\'s Warp debut sounded like little that had come before it. The breakbeats rattled so fast, they were dubbed \"drill \'n\' bass\"; the arrangements had more twists and turns than an M.C. Escher drawing. And then there were those incredible fretless bass solos, which Squarepusher—a.k.a. producer Tom Jenkinson—performed himself. Years later, the results still sound not just blindingly original, but also wildly exhilarating—and beautiful, too, full of soothing melodies to balance out all that restless energy.

Jenkinson's bass accompaniment also sounds far less prog rock-influenced here, making Hard Normal Daddy his overall most listenable work to date.