Before I start talking about this album, I’m actually legally obliged to present a Buzzfeed style list of all the things that weren’t invented the last time Aphex Twin released an album (2001’s ‘Druqs’) so here goes:
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The Microsoft Zune!
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Shampoo!
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Either Shampoo the band or shampoo the product this time, depending on what you first thought when you just read ‘shampoo’ there!
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The concept of reconciliation!
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The Spanish language!
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Forks!
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Future Islands’ performance on Letterman!
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Dirt! And with it of course the perception of cleanliness!
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Can I stop now?
Yes it’s been a hilariously long time between albums (or at least solo disks, Richard D James has continuously released music under countless other guises) and since that last release was a probable career lowlight expectations weren’t sky high for ‘Syro’. It delivers and then some though, perhaps because it’s probably the most oddly traditional album James has ever done- it’s neither showy nor controversial for the sake of it and simply has enough confidence that the sheer quality of the music would shine through on its own terms. And what music- ‘Syro’ simply sounds wonderful, no album this year or even decade better rewards the use of headphones. While you may be initially disappointed that it doesn’t quite break boundaries and wank off conceptions of music in quite the same way you may by now be expecting from an Aphex Twin release- there’s nothing particularly new here- the wonderful arrangements and even fantastic (spit) melody makes the record one of the year’s best. About 12th best I’d say.
Nope, nothing much going on here, but do you see the enduring power of a logo kids?
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