Chicago Underground Duo Hyperglyph
Chicago Underground Duo's Hyperglyph opens with an irrepressible spark, the light-footed joy of “Click Song” setting the tone for a record where rhythm and melody drive inventive conversation. Across the collection critics note how African grooves and a Don Cherry-inflected trumpet line on “Click Song” sit alongside tighter, more aggressive studio constructions, suggesting the Duo have sharpened their vocabulary without abandoning improvisational warmth.
The critical consensus, reflected in an 80/100 score from one professional review, praises the contrast between live interplay and electronic studio rigour. “Hyperglyph” emerges as a centerpiece where propulsive percussion and electronic ostinatos push the Duo toward a sculpted intensity, while suite pieces such as “Egyptian Suite / Part 3: Architectonics of Time” and “Egyptian Suite / Part 2: Triangulation of Light” underline themes of tribute and lineage. Reviewers consistently highlight improvisation and interplay as the album's narrative thread, with “The Gathering” noted for its communal momentum.
While the single professional review frames Hyperglyph as both continuous with Chicago Underground Duo's past work and more exacting in production, the record's balance of groove-driven accessibility and studio precision makes a strong case for listeners curious whether Hyperglyph is worth hearing. For readers searching for a Hyperglyph review or wondering about the best songs on Hyperglyph, “Click Song” and “Hyperglyph” are the standout tracks critics point to most emphatically, with the Egyptian Suite pieces adding depth to the album's tribute-driven themes.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Click Song
1 mention
"the album opener ‘Click Song’ conveys the essence of CUD: a joyful, indelible trumpet melody"— The Quietus
Hyperglyph
1 mention
"On the title track Mazurek briefly channels another important influence"— The Quietus
Egyptian Suite / Part 3: Architectonics of Time
1 mention
"It’s a virtuosic performance of brute force and elaborate polyrhythms"— The Quietus
the album opener ‘Click Song’ conveys the essence of CUD: a joyful, indelible trumpet melody
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Click Song
Hyperglyph
Rhythm Cloth
Contents of Your Heavenly Body
The Gathering
Plymouth
Hemiunu
Egyptian Suite / Part 1: The Architect
Egyptian Suite / Part 2: Triangulation of Light
Egyptian Suite / Part 3: Architectronics of Time
Succulent Amber
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 2 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Chicago Underground Duo return on Hyperglyph finds its best moments in the light-footed joy of “Click Song” and the fierce, sculpted intensity of “Hyperglyph”. The opening “Click Song” is revelatory - a Don Cherry-like trumpet melody dancing over propulsive percussion that encapsulates the duo's rhythm-and-melody core. The title track, “Hyperglyph”, meanwhile, is where studio rigour and electronic ostinatos let Mazurek and Taylor revoice their vocabulary into something sharper and more aggressive. For listeners looking for the best songs on Hyperglyph, those two tracks illustrate why the album feels both continuous with their past and newly exacting in its production.
Key Points
-
The best song is the opener “Click Song” for its joyful, indelible trumpet and encapsulation of the duo's essence.
-
The album's core strengths are rigorous studio production, layered electronics, and deep rhythmic interplay rooted in African grooves.