Album review: Aphex Twin, “Syro”
We’re used to interfacing with artists in as many ways as we like these Wi-Fi-on-airplane days. With the click of a button, we can find out about their favorite sandwich by combing through virtually interview they’ve ever done; suss out what they’re thinking (and more disquieting, often where they are) at ; and what , should we question their recent inspirations.
For fans of the notoriously reclusive Aphex Twin, AKA Ireland’s Richard David James, that has never been the case. Aside from eschewing social media, the few interviews the producer has granted have usually been conducted via email, and met with wry answers vacillating between imaginative digression and self-parody. (Thatap in the run-up to his new album, however.) What’s more, his releases are typically lyric-less with non-sensical track titles, if they’re titled at all, rendering all points of entry for interpretation hopelessly out of reach. That won’t stop listeners from trying, but attempts are reflexive than anything else, as the music seems to surreptitiously switch our magnifying glass out for a mirror.
“Syro,” James’ first release in 13 years as Aphex Twin, seems much more affable at first, at least with regards to how itap branded. That clunk cover art is a list of marketing expenses behind the album, preceded by its track listing, which uses the obscure analog instrument James used in tracks and their respective BPMs as titles. But itap fast apparent he isn’t making some grand statement with this information; itap all just matter-of-fact place holders, a way of giving behind-the-scenes information about the album without really giving anything away at all. Even that mysterious title (pronounced sigh-row) is just a word his son made up.
But we should probably talk about the music. After 13 years of silence, “Syro” is remarkably similar to the Aphex Twin of the early nineties. “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” is a solid reference point here, albeit it a more subdued outing compared with his latest. As did his vintage albums, “Syro” will still transport you to an early 90’s rave, but it’ll often put you on the floor rather than the . To be sure, those bracketed BPM listings we get in each track rarely dip below 120, with half in the 140+ range.
From the steady breaks of “minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix]” at the album’s get-go, “Syro” is a nigh danceable album, though an odd one. Textures rarely stay put for more than a few bars before they’re supplanted with other, equally entrancing ones. This can happen several times in the longer tracks, like “XMAS_EVET[120][thanaton 3 mix],” which makes them feel like long vaults as opposed to the verse-chorus-verse circuits of most pop. It makes for a dynamic listening experience where no two-spins are quite the same. There will always be a detail (and subsequent random association) that seizes the attention on one listen and fades into the background on another. In this sense, “Syro” provides plenty of bang for the buck.
In terms of mastering, James has kept up with the times. “Syro” sounds gorgeous on a pair of headphones, as if the music were being created live on the edges of the earbuds themselves. Odds are, this is how the album will be appreciated most, and it rewards this sort of listening with lush detail. On the album’s pianissimo closing track, “Aisatsana,” for example, hammers move inside the piano frame and a tiny chorus of birds chatters away in the background. Itap an unexpectedly airy headspace for the album to finish on, folding in an organic simplicity of which, lest we forget, James is .
There isn’t anything revolutionary about “Syro” necessarily, which James might be first to admit: the album spans the last six years of work for him, far too long of a production to keep ahead of modern music’s ever-cresting wave. But what it lacks in a game changer, it makes up for with sheer mastery. “Syro” is a captivating experience in the way of the best ambient LPs: enjoyable, but surprisingly provocative. The music interfaces with you, rather than the other way around. For James, no doubt that registers as a resounding success.
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Dylan Owens is Reverb’s all-purpose news blogger and album reviewer. You can read more from him in Relix magazine and the comment sections of WORLDSTARHIPHOP.
