In the middle of August, a chartreuse blimp appeared over London bearing the Aphex Twin logo. A few days later, Aphex Twin’s official Twitter account posted a link only accessible through Tor, which revealed the track listing and the title, “Syro,” a nonsense word made up by Richard D. James’s son.
James, of course, is Aphex Twin, the electronic music patriarch whose 1992 album “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” is considered to be perhaps one of the great electronic albums ever recorded. His subsequent releases and impressive pre-“Selected” work (listen to “Analogue Bubblebath” and tell me you don’t hear “Yeezus” a few decades before its time) never quite approached the quality of that album as a whole, but later, individual tracks like “Windowlicker” and “Untitled (lichen)” are undeniably genius works. And here we are in 2014, hearing the first proper Aphex Twin studio album since 2001’s uneven Drukqs.
Before we get into the actual album, a moment of respect for the incredible press junket sent out by James to the media, which featured statements like this: “…James, whose rooster has been slow development, including his own labia under different names…” In addition to that oddity, the album cover is a literal receipt, which details the cost to create the album spread out per-disc, with everything from “Window posters in Dublin, Ireland” to “Online advertising in Norway.”
“Syro,” like any Aphex Twin album, requires a few listens to pin it down as anything. It’s an album that is as much about what isn’t said as what is. On certain songs like “minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix],” places where an earlier James might have gone sonically wild and unpredictable feel gently massaged, rather than violently shaken. Which isn’t to say that he’s “gone soft” – on the contrary, the excellent “180db_[130],” a rave thumper with some menacing overtones, is as intense as anything he’s ever made. But the album as a whole sees James trending more towards long, thoughtful play. The album’s indisputable masterpiece is the second track, “XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix],” a ten-and-a-half minute piece that feels like an exploration of what exactly is possible in sound. Soothing textural sounds are overlaid with James’ garbled voice and quick, airy synths to create a very specific brand of melancholy.
But hasn’t he always done this? The album’s greatness feels almost predetermined. Take a 13 year hiatus and that’ll happen – he could’ve released an hour of his grocery list and gotten an 8.0 from Pitchfork. But under more scrutiny, the album feels like Aphex Twin making a very good Aphex Twin album. This is not an innovative album for James, and one would have to have been intimately familiar with James’ oeuvre to pick up on the difference between “Syro” and some of his other albums. In truth, most people who listen to Aphex Twin are –but that doesn’t change the fact that the songs feel a little safe.
Don’t get me wrong—this is an excellent album. “aisatsana [102]” is a stirring piano piece towards the end of the album, reminiscent of his much-loved “Avril 14th,”wthat makes as much use out of its silences as it does out of its spare notes. “CIRCLONTA6A [syrobonkus mix]” is as fun as it sounds – grating, skittish, acid beats create some head-bumpingly catchy refrains amid the chaos of the track. Both of these deserve a place in the Aphex Twin canon. However, the fact remains that James can and has done better.
This album is more than worth your time. Here’s to the next one.
Bernstein is a member of
the class of 2018.
