Final Rating: 9.1/10
It’s been over ten years since Richard D James has released a full length album under the moniker Aphex Twin, and this called for a special occasion. With a cryptic message from the darkest pits of the deep web, D James started creating hype for Syro, and everyone reacted exactly as he predicted: Manically. Finally, a new album from the electronic legend Aphex Twin! The album was pretty well hidden for most of the duration of the countdown to its release, and this secretive album has eventually reached our ears. After all of this wait, what do we hear? Good old Aphex Twin. That’s right: We are given an album that we could expect from this techno wizard. With my initial listen, I was certainly enticed, yet I found myself kind of wondering if that was truly it. Was this actually the album we had all waited a decade for?
The greatest quality of Syro is that it is as deceptive as D James’s spooky smile, of which covers a large amount of his work. Like the cheshire cat itself, D James’s grin only appears as a sign of discomfort and not true joy. Also like the fantastical feline, Syro requires some digging to find its true message. The source of Syro is there and it’s as solid as cement. It never feels so fixed, though. There is a lot going on within the songs of Syro, and while any form of melody won’t be hard to find on the initial listen, the way each sound compliments each other will only have its brilliance revealed after some getting used to. What a great job these compositions do in the end. XMAS_EVET10 (Thanaton3 Mix) is a ten minute number that is placed early on as the second track, and it may pass off as overly long at first. However, with some time, it becomes a cosmic journey into a distant galaxy. I believe that this slow revelation of ideas comes from how smooth of an album Syro is. Sounds slowly work their way in, unlike some of the more jarring work D James has released (Come To Daddy, for instance). D James has released soothing and fluid music before many a time, but on Syro, he has released some of his most complimentary sounds thus far.
Syro’s retro sound isn’t trying to be against the electronic music of modern times. There aren’t any bass drops. There isn’t any trap outbreak. Everything evolves like an ambient techno song should. D James isn’t trying to impress anyone with the kind of versatility of genres he’s more than qualified to take on, because he’s showing us that he still isn’t done releasing the kind of music he’s best at. He still has ideas that work terrifically. If anything, this decades-old sound feels as current as ever with Syro. Unlike many albums, where their appreciation of older styles is meant to make a statement, Syro sits comfortably with the recently released albums this year with crossed arms and an unassuming face. There is no guilt here; only deep belief. Syro most certainly belongs amongst some of this years’ best, and while it feels a bit like an undercover spy taking a part in a race it has no fashion sense of (think Miss Congeniality), not only is it more than welcome to participate, it blows many other contestants out of the water. D James knows that there’s more to modernity than trends, as he still has the imagination required to be truly admirable.
Having said all of this, the hidden forms and refusal to attach to norms found on Syro would be respectable alone. However, it’s the fact that every song is actually magical that makes Syro a very welcome return for Aphex Twin. 4 bit 9d api+e+6 has such a beautiful melody that floats around and gets warped out of existence occasionally. Both CIRCLONT6A (Syrobonkus Mix) and CIRCLONT14 (Shrymoming Mix) have moments of such musical delicacy that an interlude (Fz Pseudotimestretch+e+3) is needed to take a break from all of the love these songs exude. 180db_ is as obnoxious as its name depicts, yet its anthemic structure and glitter-glued editing make it an absolute trip. The album ends on the entirely out of place Aisatsana, which, again on the first listen, initially feels like a piano song oddly planted at the final moment of Syro. As with all of Syro, it reveals itself to be an entry way back into the organic world. It is a question of what truly is humanistic music. Was everything preceding Aisatsana artificial, including the emotions attached? Is it Aisatsana that truly is the most mechanical song on an album full of glitch adventures? Like the ending of The Sopranos, it is a finale that is confusing at first but becomes the best ending Syro could have ever had.
The production is so clear that it glistens. Even the distorted buzzes of certain songs are produced well enough to have each and every spec of pixelated dust be heard perfectly. The bass in every song oozes with life. Every percussive hit makes a statement without ruining the intricate melodies of their respective songs. The mixing is nearly flawless, and you don’t have to put a lot of effort into trying to hear anything. Again, it is the music that comes to you with Syro. You really don’t have to do much effort, despite the fact that Syro almost certainly deserves more than a singular chance. You may have to dig, but the album pretty much does the work for you, like bosses that give tutorials that they complete themselves. That’s because Richard D James is one of the electronic musics most fixated on perfection nowadays. He doesn’t care if it takes a little while for his work to show its true colours, as long as they do eventually. Syro is shy but it is full of wonders. To even hear it just once is to have you being someone who is still missing out on one of the best electronic albums of the year.
You can stream and download the entire album on Bleep.
