Hard Normal Daddy

#62

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 10]

And so begin the recommendations. Up until this point, my music journey had been dictated by myself, and by Spotify's 'Discover Weekly' playlists. This album signifies the first time I listened to an album through personal recommendation. Many such albums will follow, most of which were recommended by one specific person who will remain nameless (he knows who he is). He is also the reason I got an AOTY account and started making these reviews anyway, so you can thank him for that.

And I can thank him for this - a very good recommendation. 'Hard Normal Daddy' fits so well into the kind of music I was listening and enjoying at the time that I struggle to call it anything other than an incredibly well suited recommendation. The fusion between jazz and idm is what i would call the key sound of this era of my listening, and Squarepusher really PUSHES it to its extreme.

Some incredibly well realised tracks. Three standouts, with the rest acting as decent filler that really keeps you within the sound world. The experimental tracks are just within my remit of "okay no this still does sound cool", and the jazzy tracks are the sort of thing I'm really always here for. Feels like the future.

Track list breakdown:

Coopers World - {2022 Part 1 - Track 4} What an opening. Defiantly sets out the sonic tone of the album in an all-timer electric jazz ballad. (9/10)

Beep Street - Two for two! Ups the ante even, goes from incredible to sublime. This was the first time I ever heard the snare drum rip sound affect, and it's one of my favourite idm notations. Another absolute classic. (9/10)

Rustic Raver - I love the absolute insanity of this. And the breakdown is SO chunky. (7/10)

Anirog D9 - Good, but doesn't leave much of an impact. (6/10)

Chin Hippy - Like I said, just about pushing the limits of "this still sounds good". (6/10)

Papalon - I slept on this one HARD. Returning to the album, I knew that 'Coopers World' and 'Beep Street' were greats, but I completely forgot about how good this track is. It may just be recency bias, but I think this may be my favourite of the bunch. It just feels so good to listen to. (9/10)

E8 Boogie - Keep them good times rolling. Fat fucking bass playing here. So sexy. (8/10)

Fat Controller - Feels like a Coldcut track, especially with the "pump it up" sample. Could do with a little more shape imo. (7/10)

Vic Acid - Like a 'Mezzanine' track on steroids. (7/10)

Male Pill Part 13 - Definitely the weirdest name on the track list (wtf does it even mean?) but my least favourite of the ballads. (7/10)

Rat / P's and Q's - Really ominous icl. (7/10)

Rebus - Bit of a flat finale. (6/10)

Ranked:
1. Papalon
2. Beep Street
3. Coopers World
4. E8 Boogie
5. Male Pill Part 13
6. Fat Controller
7. Vic Acid
8. Rat / P's and Q's
9. Rustic Raver
10. Rebus
11. Chin Hippy
12. Anirog D9

An incredibly well rounded, unique, and satisfying listening experience. (8/10)