I just wanted to say that the idea of this record sounding "unmastered" to people is an unjust accusation. I believe Squarepusher is just consciously utilizing the full dynamic range of his music---the tracks are NOT unpolished and unmixed, but rather crescendoing, decrescendoing, etc. much like that of classical music.

This was also the case in Ultravisitor and perhaps others I haven't heard yet. I'll bet it just seems unmastered to a lot of people because there's hardly any electronic music like this where songs would go from a pianissimo to a triple forte and other such dynamic ranges. In lots of electronic music (excluding early academic stuff), especially ones with club-oriented roots, things stay at about the same volume level, or at least you never have to strain to hear the music.

So as a result, because of the range of volumes on this disc, it pretty much restricts you to a marginal volume setting. Otherwise some parts would be barely audible or others might be way too loud. Therefore, using this as background music is pretty much not an option. I can't play it in the car with my girlfriend because she gets frustrated that she can't talk to me during the loud parts. But then again when did anyone ever expect Squarepusher to function as background music? He always demands our full attention!

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)

nice album. Some typical filler tracks that are more like interludes. Mastering is non existant. doesn't break new ground? God, if that was the criteria for a good album....Anyway, biggest question is why do all the chords come on the downbeat of every measure???? Tom created such movement/syncopation on his earlier "jazzier" work. Oh well, time to go lip sync to "50 cycles."

Tom Jenkinson has been making music constantly since the early-mid 90s. Sometimes he will sleep or eat or go out in public, but to date, he has made over 3500 songs. Of course he has only released roughly 5% of those songs to the public, because some of them are no doubt derrivative. Which leads us to Hello Everything...

This album sounds like a bunch of B-sides (well, *squarepusher* B-sides) which have been polished up and sent off with very little love. The only exceptions being Planetarium which is magnificantly constructed (i mean mindblowingly great,) Rotate Electrolyte which would have fit lovingly in any number of albums to date, and Plotinus, with its wonderful exercise in tension and release. Three amazing songs all of which are similar in tone and feeling. If he could have released an album based more solidly around these songs it would have made much more sense. He has enough truely strong material to make it work, but instead he peppered the album with some out of place songs which simply feature his world-class bass playing as the central element. We know you play bass Tom, but you used to release amazing compositions as well. Don't get me wrong. This is great material, but the presentation just leaves me yawning and disappointed.

3.5 / 5

Great material this time as usual. What an interesting artist. Every record is a new surprise. This guy is so much fun to listen to. But unfortunately like Go Plastic, Do You Know Squarepusher, & Ultravisitor, this album does not appear to be MASTERED! His earlier stuff from the 90's all sounded great. But it seems like after the new millennium he stopped using a mastering engineer. While not nearly as troubling as Ultravisitor was, Hello Everything still suffers from many of the classic symptoms of an unmastered album. Some tracks are quiet, some are loud, some sound tiny and weak, and others are too full and heavy. Some tracks are weak in midrange, often times the drums get buried. It's frustrating because again the material is great but the audio problems constantly take you out of the album. I'm tired riding the volume control and the eq when listening to Squarepusher. Tom we love you, give Frank Arkwright a call again!