Syro is the latest release from electronic musician Aphex Twin. The announcement of the album’s release, 13 years after the musician’s previous album, generated a massive buzz within the music community that’s only comparable to Radiohead’s Kid A album from 2000, which shocked many with its extremely experimental approach.

Richard D. James, dubbed by sources (Allmusic, Rolling Stone, etc) as one of the best electronic musicians, arrived on the scene the early 1990s with the moniker “Aphex Twin,” and essentially shaped the genre for what it is today. Unlike other electronic musicians, he displays a very laid-back attitude when it comes to his work. He’s known for countless amounts of things, such as humorous music videos and nonsensical track titles. Like many other innovators, he’s never been famous in the mainstream; however, he’s extremely well-known in the underground. What many notice when listening to his work is how contemporary they sound today. However, at the time of release, they were unlike anything else.

After a 2001 release, he mysteriously disappeared. It wasn’t until this year that he returned to release Syro.

Syro isn’t your typical electronic album. It’s title is a jab at how seriously other electronic musicians take themselves. The packaging even seems to warn the listener of how avant-garde the album is — the cover extends multiple times to depict a list with every single price for the album. In typical Aphex Twin manner, the track titles are nonsensical and unnecessarily long. I’ll be abbreviating them for this review.
Altogether, the LP doesn’t match the quality of his previous work, notably his debut, Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and Windowlicker. However, it’s better than most of today’s generic, uninspired electronic music.
The first three tracks; minipops, Xmas eve, and produk, provide a great, jolting intro to the album. They consist of a fast beat with a constantly changing tempo and a laid-back ambient track beneath as some vocals drift in and out. minipops has an unmistakable, unplaceable feeling, Xmas eve has a wintery, synthy feel, and Produk gives off a very retro, futuristic atmosphere. All tracks transition extremely well through multiple movements.

This is arguably the LP’s best point, as the quality starts to descend from here.
The fourth track, titled 4 bit, doesn’t stand out, feeling like a continuation of produk. 180db is a standard club beat, except chopped and screwed. It’s very repetitive and predictable. In the sixth track, CIRCLONT6A, a distorted voice creeps through the entire song along with sound effects reminiscent of old, 16-bit video games.

fz pseudotimestretch is a continuation of the last track, providing filler to make the album longer. In the track’s first half, CIRCLONT14 sounds similar to CIRCLONT6A, also featuring a synthy feel and distorted beat. About halfway in, it reinvents itself with a soothing voice that speaks to the listener as the music builds to a cleaner, more pleasant sound. Syro, the title track, drops the potential to flow into something else that the previous track provides.

PAPAT4 finally provides some variety, featuring a unique beat over sounds resembling a choir vocalizing in a religious harmony. However, it begins to sound repetitive. s950tx16wasr10 is a bland and aimless track that sounds a ridiculous amount like the previous songs. Aisatsana is a surprise: a piano piece with subtle, ambient sounds. It’s very simple and slow, which is refreshing, given the complexity of the previous tracks.
The track provides for an excellent end for the LP.

Like James’ previous work, this LP is packed with an astounding amount of detail, reaching levels of absurdity. For example, the sheets for his music taunt the reader with insults such as, “If you can’t play this, why don’t you call mommy.” As a result of their complexity, the songs all feel as if they contain multiple tracks in one. It definitely stands out from standard electronica, featuring James’ distinctive style: traditional electronic music with compositions that can rival the pieces of great classical and baroque composers.

However, Syro is a far cry from the quality of James’ previous work. It feels as if it serves as an announcement of his return, and it very well might be, given that he’s announced that he has more than 10 years worth of content recorded. Furthermore, a rumor long before the album’s announcement also stated that his first “true” comeback LP would be from a second release this year.
5.7/10