this week for the weekly review, i’m checking out Aphex Twin’s 2014 album, Syro. i’ll say this much up front – ive basically missed Aphex Twin up to this point. i’m certain ive heard a track or two here or there but not consciously and never a full record, so im excited but a little without context, haha.

Syro opens with minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix]. for as active as this track is, it has pensive energy to it. v interesting track. XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix] follows up, and is the longest track on the record. lotta really subtle loopy stuff in the first half of the track. the back half of the track goes off the rails in real subtle ways. extremely neat ten minutes. produk 29 [101] is funky and those bright tones at the core of the song are wild. 4 bit 9d api+e+6 [126.26] feels… like it’s trying to tap into some more like, i dunno archetypical? electronic sounds, to p good effect. 180db_ [130] feels like a panic attack. this raises my stress, no way around that. an interesting thing is how this track moves around the mix – it starts strong, moves away from the listener, then comes back stronger than ever. v well composed. CIRCLONT6A [141.98][syrobonkus mix]. love the mix of percussion and those somber synths here. lotta fun stuff on this one, this is one of the top tracks on the record for me. fz pseudotimestretch+e+3 [138.85] holds the shortest runtime on the record, and this minute track breaks up the two CIRCLONT tracks. it’s fine. it’s hazy and mild, a nice intermission of sorts. CIRCLONT14 [152.97][shrymoming mix] has a much milder start, coming out of psuedotimestretch, but this one ramps back up p hard and quite fast. nice way to kind of develop and explore what’s going on in the first CIRCLONT track. syro u473t8+e [141.98][piezoluminescense mix] has a like, 80s electronics flare to it that’s really rad, in a way that i mean completely unironically. another v fun track. PAPAT4 [155][pineal mix] has a very trancelike vibe to it. it’s driving and ethereal at the same time. would be absolutely wild driving music. s950tx16wasr10 [163.97][earth portal mix] is an intense track, no lie. feels like it loses itself just a lil bit part of the way through, but i still dig it. i like what it’s laying down. aisatsana [102] is surprising pleasant and serene, after everything. the quiet piano composition over outdoor sounds is just dreamlike. it’s got the same psychic energy as minecraft music. great closer.

faves – CIRCLONT6A [141.98][syrobonkus mix], syro u473t8+e [141.98][piezoluminescense mix]
dislikes –

this record has a way of like, creeping in. i really want to use the phrase “get under your skin” but without the bad connotations – it’s inviting in an alien way. the beats and synths here are careful, and deliberate, and while i feel largely out of my depths to talk about them in terms of genre or artistic history i will say this record, as a package, was a very interesting listen, and while i don’t LOVE it, there’s a lot to love here. i definitely like this record.

Syro – 7/10

also, “syrobonkus”, the nonsense word his kid said that the album’s name is derived from, is fantastic. huge fan of that.


the selection for this week’s suggestion pool is Real Gone, Tom Waits’ 2004 record. i’ll be back next Friday, August 12 for a review, and in the meantime, let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then a pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)