Aphex Twin
Syro

I didn't think I would struggle so much to talk about a potential new album by Aphex Twin. Knowing the character in question, like many, I didn't even think another one would ever be released. Which I believe is symptomatic of the wave of reverent emotion that followed this album's release. But this is also why this "gentle conception" ended up disappointing many people. What you've read about this album so far, if you happened to do so, is all true. Yes, it mostly sounds like a meeting between Analord and The Tuss project, with some spasmodic flashes of Drukqs and slight hints of the mood of Selected Ambient Works 85-92. Oh look, there's even a blissfully ignorant techno track that could have come from the "Classics" repertoire. In short, the inevitable conclusion to be drawn is that this album sounds like Aphex Twin and nothing else, nothing truly new or revolutionary (as confirmed by the author himself in a recent interview) but nonetheless of great overall significance. Certainly, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since the times of the much-maligned Drukqs. Electronic music mostly thrives on physicality and very strong, always new sensory stimuli. In this genre, the emphasis is placed, before the actual composition, much more on the engineering quest for the perfect brain-busting sound. But the "public" Aphex Twin has revealed itself, in the long run, very different from a mere sound sculptor with musical ambitions. And as for sound research, truth be told, there were already some more valid and "serious" artists at the time, and today many more have reached and surpassed him. Mr. Twin, for at least ten years, since the release of Analord, The Tuss, and now with Syro, seems to have become so enamored with machines that he has almost become a biomechanical extension of them. Syro was composed in six different studios (set up by himself) and with an impressive amount of hardware and analog instruments, but the final result seems to deliver - incredibly - one of the most cohesive albums he has ever produced, about which he seems to be almost disappointed.

"it's probably good (for the album), but it actually makes me think I'm pretty shit" 

The sound innovation and the variation in timbre between the various tracks are so subtle that they're almost non-existent, and apparently, it wasn't intentional. Syro is certainly the funkiest, most easy-listening, most "composed" Aphex Twin album. Composed in every sense: there is never a real sonic assault, never chaos for its own sake, and the tracks open in such a way that they seem to scream "listen to me, this time you will remember me." And there is memorable stuff to be found: it's a collection of certainly particular tracks - we're still talking about an artist who hates the equal temperament - but for the first time ever, it seems to have been thought and selected for fans like me, who appreciate his music for what it is, without seeking innovation at all costs. Because Syro, in the end, is this: an act of love towards those machines and his type of music, which is now to be considered "classic" for electronic music at least as much as the best prog is for rock. But obviously, those who seek more than just a consolation from Aphex Twin, those who have loved him for the caustic hedonism that has always driven him towards compositional renewal, if not to the derision of other musical genres (classical, metal, hip hop...) cannot help but agree with him this time that Syro is - perhaps - a great album but not the most interesting thing this artist could have released, precisely because everything that could be said in this style has already been said many times. So, in the end, this album is a bit of a rambling, just like the worst prog. Different perspectives, different conclusions.

But, you know, not even billions can give you back the trust in people or in yourself, when you lose it or never had it. So, I'd say let's cherish the guy a bit more and thank him for the kind concession of this "best of." But from the "next-level shit" he surely has in the works, we all expect something significantly different. The criticism this time has lavished praise, certainly deserved if you will, but are we sure someone would again be enthusiastic if another similar album were to be released in the future? 

Honestly, I have my doubts...