Numbers Lucent

One of Squarepusher’s leanest and most thematically consistent works, Numbers Lucent explores Tom Jenkinson’s interest in the sounds of house and rave music. While it seems counterintuitive that a return to traditional styles would be creatively rewarding for a sonic adventurer like Jenkinson, working with the fundamentality of house music helps contain his conflicting musical impulses and underscores his cleverness. This is particularly obvious on the opening song, “Zounds Perspex,” a bouncy and funky house track that continually amuses even as it stays within a single rhythm construct. “Paradise Garage” is a sibling track, its title referencing the legendary Manhattan dance club where DJ Larry Levan pioneered the sounds of underground disco. Jenkinson’s drum and bass roots crop up on “Arterial Fantasy,” which feels somewhat perfunctory despite its manic rhythms. More intriguing is “Illegal Dustbin,” an assaultive closer that answers the question: “What would it sound like if house music merged with thrash metal?”