When they first announced Squarepusher’s forthcoming Ufabulum, Warp promised something “very melodic, very aggressive”.

Tom Jenkinson, lest we forgot, rose to prominence with some of the most abrasive drill’n’bass out there. In his autumn years, however, Jenkinson often seems happier assembling pretty digital miniatures. ‘Dark Steering’, as promised, shows Jenkinson harnessing the best of both worlds –  Squarepushering the circle, if you will.

Like 2008’s ‘Hello Meow’, ‘Dark Steering’ is a retro-futurist fantasia, full of plaintive of beeps and whirrs. Around the half-way mark, however, things totally lift off. Jenkinson tosses in a double-speed breakbeat, and buzzsaw synths squeal like Formula 1 cars. The futuristic video suits the track perfectly (FACT’s fact of the day: Jenkinson built and arranged the LED visuals himself).

Ufabulum is due on May 14.

Tracklist:
1. 4001
2. Unreal Square
3. Stadium Ice
4. Energy Wizard
5. Red In Blue
6. The Metallurgist
7. Drax 2
8. Dark Steering
9. 303 Scopem Hard
10. Ecstatic Shock