Aphex Twin – Syro (2014)

November 3, 2014

The hype for hhis record has been unstoppable for the last few months, and rightly so, due to the solid consistency of quality albums that The Aphex Twin has churned out over his long and unusual career. On top of that, Syro is the first Aphex Twin release in 13 years, so to say this album had a lot to live up to would be a bit of an understatement. Luckily, Richard D. James has never really been the type of musical genius that likes to disappoint. He might astound you, puzzle you, or even scare you, but he hasn’t let anyone down yet. Syro epically cements this fact.

Syro takes The Aphex Twin back to a more Analord-based sound. Nonsensical song titles (actually I’m sure they make sense to a certain crazy someone haha) reveal forward thinking, yet AFX-roots-worshipping sounds. I can imagine this ringing out on Spotify players in student housing around the world, or in the murky interiors of some of Amsterdam’s hipper cannabis coffeeshops. For me though, it’s the perfect music to get shit done to (high or otherwise). AFX’s Analord series was always my music of choice whilst working in kitchens, keeping me relaxed yet suitably buzzed enough to make it through the working day in one piece. Syro is just a much more polished and refined version of that. It is as close to perfection as electronic music can get, for now. I don’t say that lightly, either.