Richard D. James has fucked himself in the ass.
How was he supposed to top Drukqs?
How could he?
I was actually left breathless the first time I heard "Mt Saint Michel+Saint Michaels Mount" and the simple, raw, sorrowful beauty (not to mention the object lesson in juxtaposition) of "Avril 14th" was just unmatched. Then, of course, there's the nightmare soundscapes of "gwarek2".
Following up Drukqs was going to be insanely difficult, but following it up after thirteen fucking years?
Shit, man.
Syro is, undeniably, Aphex Twin, but a lot more subdued that I would have hoped for his return; I don't want Aphex Twin appropriate for Sunday morning tea consumption, I want microscopic lacerations all over the surface of my brain. To put it another way: "Come on, you cunt, let's have some Aphex acid". The restrained feel of Syro could stem from the fact that a lot of it might have been created over seven years ago. Rumor has it that, in his absence, James crafted anywhere from six to more than a thousand albums, and that Syro is twelve tracks selected from this wealth of unreleased material. That would certainly account for the lack of cohesion.
Following up Drukqs was going to be insanely difficult, but following it up after thirteen fucking years?
Shit, man.
Syro is, undeniably, Aphex Twin, but a lot more subdued that I would have hoped for his return; I don't want Aphex Twin appropriate for Sunday morning tea consumption, I want microscopic lacerations all over the surface of my brain. To put it another way: "Come on, you cunt, let's have some Aphex acid". The restrained feel of Syro could stem from the fact that a lot of it might have been created over seven years ago. Rumor has it that, in his absence, James crafted anywhere from six to more than a thousand albums, and that Syro is twelve tracks selected from this wealth of unreleased material. That would certainly account for the lack of cohesion.
For me, I didn't start actively enjoying the album until about halfway through, when "CIRCLONT6A (Syrobonkus Mix)" came on. It has a nice, thick, blurred wall of sound which I most closely associate with AT. Things continued to be good with "Fz pseudotimestretch+e+3", which, with its elasticized beat and that particular strummed chord progression, has a touch of both something from Coil's "Love's Secret Domain" and Gorillaz "El Manana". Way too short though. The mid-way nugget of good stuff extended into "CIRCLONT14 (Shrymoming Mix)" and its soft, eerie opening sinking into its splintered electro jizz and concluded with "Syro u473t8+e (Piezoluminescence Mix)". "S950tx16wasr10 (Earth Portal Mix)" has some interesting stuff as well and the album closer, "Aisatsana", is very nice, a simple piano piece that would feel at home echoing through some long abdicated fairytale kingdom. Based on the track titles and the rumor of Syro's cut and paste origins, I think I want more from CIRCLONT, if that is, in fact, one of the lost albums and not just some of James' buzz gub.
Am I the biggest Aphex Twin fan in the world? Does James’ twisted, demonic slash of a grin confront me every time I look into a mirror? Do I think in circuitry? No, but I am a fan and would be surprised if someone could convince me there's a better AT album than Drukqs...unless that someone is Richard D. James.
What I'm taking from Syro is that Aphex Twin is back and, hopefully, he'll soon have something amazing to show us.
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