Aphex Twin - Syro

[mr3]

100 LOAD "SYRO"
110 GOSUB CRITICAL MUSIC ANALYSIS ROUTINE
200 SYNTAX ERROR, NO SPREADSHEET DATA FOUND
300 PRINT "REVIEW", YOUTUBE : REM SHOCK 255 VIEWERS

Thanks TRS80. Yeah, blazing fast review. Yeah, still...'processing' the album here. What's that? You wanna run another ASCII 3D dungeon crawler? Might wanna think about powering down before you let your smoke out. I mean go for it dude.

[The Telepathic Kid]

I think this is gonna be a completely new style of AFX, and fingers crossed, it doesn't sound fucking dated.

i was wrong

[jamesyboyy]

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

You think his criticisms were unreasonable? I love this album, but I can understand why people would be underwhelmed by parts of it. Drowned in Sound gave it a perfect 10. That's loony.

[untitled]

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

You think his criticisms were unreasonable? I love this album, but I can understand why people would be underwhelmed by parts of it. Drowned in Sound gave it a perfect 10. That's loony.

I don't think the criticisms themselves were unreasonable, I was just criticizing the fact that the criticisms had such a big influence on the score. He could/should have seen the album for what it is: stuff RDJ considers the best segue from what we know he does best (incl. tracks from live sets) - to what he is up to these days.

As such, the album is a fine mint-chocolate cupcake for who already appreciated RDJ - and a very fine intro for those who never heard of him.

I am not a fanatic like Drowned in Sound or Pitchfork (8.7... they could at least have given it 8.7777777777 if they like decimals so much)... but still, I would have give it a solid 7.5 (in comparison, TH is "worth" a 7).

[The Telepathic Kid]

He could/should have seen the album for what it is: stuff RDJ considers the best segue from what we know he does best (incl. tracks from live sets) - to what he is up to these days.

I don't see it for that.

am I wrong?

[untitled]

I don't see it for that.

am I wrong?

No mate you are special

[Fredd-E]

Pizza guy (Anthony Fantano) gave it a review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-5Ct4eQho

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

wow did he just mention "future elevator music" with regards to track 3? this man is gonna be hated on WATMM

[The Telepathic Kid]

No mate you are special

finally someone understands <3

[panic button]

I'm already certain that personally speaking, "XMAS_EVET10" could be the most breathtaking, enchanting bit of Aphex I've ever heard--especially the slow burn of the middle stretch. When that vocal sample hits at 6:20--my god!

Yes yes yes. I've listened to this track on a daily basis since getting Syro. Truly amazing; above all the middle section, as you say.

[re-phaelam-ed]

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

You think his criticisms were unreasonable? I love this album, but I can understand why people would be underwhelmed by parts of it. Drowned in Sound gave it a perfect 10. That's loony.

i tell you what the problem is...people expect too much...want the artist to "redefine music" with every album. fuck these ADD Facebook fucking idiots. the album is freakin' brilliant.

xmas sets me off. fucking amazing.

yes you are entitled to your own opinions...but take it for what it is. its super well done. and the tunes are engaging.

there have been albums that come out from artists that, yes, are lackluster at best. almost seem like they were done through obligation to contract or lack of funds [HP], but this AFX album is far from that. it has a vibe, and is very entertaining.

6.........fuck off. 8.9/10

[untitled]

What's striking about the new Aphex Twin is how out of step it is with most of the glitzy mainstream electronic world. Its vast, richly textured dreamscapes call from the weird fringe of a genre that used to be nothing but weird fringes. It's possible to dance to this music, but you can just get lost inside it, too.

Check out the review from NPR... be aware that

1. the audio review which you get by pushing the big triangle next to LISTEN NOW is different from the text review

2. NPR is the public radio of the USA and it might not be compared to BBC as it has a more old school style (which I personally love to bits) and audience (ages 35 to 85 I would guess)

"Sudden breakdowns and scene changes" ... ALL HAIL RDJ OUR KING AND QUEEN!

[The Telepathic Kid]

I just feel that when James has had such interesting and engaging work in the past, this doesn't come up to par with what he's done previously.

I mean the Analord series wrapped up just about 5 years ago and Chosen Lords is a much stronger and tighter album than Syro.

And I know, I'm dumb, I'm not looking at it as a transitional piece or as a super high concept thing, I'm judging it as my ears hear it and how the sounds register on a scale of enjoyability within my brain.

I hear super interesting compositions, layered and complex in detail, but I'll admit that as the years have gone by I've moved away from electronic music. The tunes here don't stick with me like they once might have. There's nothing engaging in a melodic sense for me.

I know, babby needs pretty catchy melodies to enjoy music, sit on your high IDM chairs, but Syro has made me go back and check out AFX's old material, like I Care Because You Do, RDJ Album, his EP's and works under various monikers.
Most of his older stuff still resonates with me, so I don't think my ears have detuned to the electronic style, I just think AFX has turned down a road which I'm not entirely digging.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing to explore areas already covered in a different way, and I don't want to be one of those people that compare the works of an artist to stuff they've previously released, but when your new record treads areas you've already done much much better, there's no real reason for me to listen to it. I mean about halfway through this I just wanted to stop and put on Chosen Lords because I get more enjoyment out of it.

I'm sorry for being a pleb or a babby or a n00b or whatever insulting words you want to use to try and degrade my intelligence for not liking Syro, but it didn't click with me.

S(yr)orry

[jamesyboyy]

I don't think the criticisms themselves were unreasonable, I was just criticizing the fact that the criticisms had such a big influence on the score. He could/should have seen the album for what it is: stuff RDJ considers the best segue from what we know he does best (incl. tracks from live sets) - to what he is up to these days.

As such, the album is a fine mint-chocolate cupcake for who already appreciated RDJ - and a very fine intro for those who never heard of him.

I am not a fanatic like Drowned in Sound or Pitchfork (8.7... they could at least have given it 8.7777777777 if they like decimals so much)... but still, I would have give it a solid 7.5 (in comparison, TH is "worth" a 7).

I've been watching Anthony's reviews since about 2010, and I like him a lot because he's gotten me into lots of albums that I likely would never have heard of otherwise. I also think he likes a lot of crap that makes me cringe, but that's OK because I think that of lots of people.

The thing that his project has made me appreciate over the years is that he is one person consuming a huge amount of music; he reviews 200-300 albums each year and clearly listens to many times more than that which he doesn't review. That's quite an overwhelming thought and certainly not something I would like to do, in fact I think I would completely break down. I imagine that acting as one person alone, listening to every single major album and a huge volume more of lesser albums that come out reduces the sense of 'event' or anticipation attached to a new record. There just isn't time to take an artist's intentions into consideration. You press play, listen to it another five times, and what stands out stands out and what doesn't doesn't.

Pitchfork, or whichever website, has their metal guy and their synth-pop guy and their avant-garde guy and they get to immerse themselves in a scene and I'm sure that's lots of fun and they can pander because they get to spend their time mulling an album over and flying around the world meeting the artists and becoming friends with them and all that old-fashioned fun. I think a lot of critics and publications or web-sites do tend to get behind albums because:

a. Criticism is very unpopular these days. People seem to have the attitude that you should either like something or shut up about it and that if you don't love something you're a hater or a contrarian looking for attention (not accusing you of this at all, of course, I'm just enjoying writing about this...).

b. They have to perpetuate interest in 'the album'. The album is kind of dying (this makes me sad) because people steal them or don't care to listen to them the whole way through, and music criticism is based on a holistic album experience. I really don't think that established, formal criticism has a plan B and its importance dies along with the album. That this coincides with the death publishing and writers being valued or even paid doesn't help either.

I probably feel about the same as you on both SYRO and TH. I certainly like TH a little less than I did this time last year. The first few runs of SYRO, I was just so happy with the detail and the positivity; I found it a very uplifting and energising album and I was thinking "OH THIS IS THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!! THE BEST HE'S EVER DONE!!" But I've had it on at home, on my headphones out and about and my view of it has started to level. Now I know that I love most of the album intensely, and about four or five songs I feel are finely put together and no less detailed but don't mean much to me; they're just fine and that's fine.

I do think that cool criticism is hard to take, though. When somebody hates something, you can say "well let them hate it, it's not for them". At least negativity is tangible and definable. Indifference or disappointment are so much more frustrating because they're so dismissive. I had BOC on and somebody recommended I try Tchyo because he does the same sort of thing and my blood absolutely boiled because they clearly just saw BOC as a bit of laid-back and lazy, blissed-out electronica and I just wanted lay into them. "IT'S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!117289"

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da!

[Headphase]

The new aphex twin is, by far, one of my favourite aphex albums. These uptight people always demand more.
In my opinion, if you can't give a good review, don't give a review at all

[thepastinsidepressant]

tbh, if he hadn't all that gear to make it, and all that gear to make you believe he made it with all that gear thats so out of reach of most people i think there wouldnt be so much a fuss with this aphex guy. its what makes him different and he bloody well knows it. this fetish actually turns me off.

give me boc anyday with a few broken machines on little money.
burial does it well too, you don't need all that shit.

[747Music]

Sorry for the following lengthy review:

I like it. It makes me giggle.

Thank you.

[Cupz]

give me boc anyday with a few broken machines on little money.

I dislike the fetish as well yet:

We'll go to great lengths to get hold of a specific instrument just to get a particular sound. For example, there's a sound in Cold Earth that is something like only one second of audio. It comes from an obscure old effect unit that cost us a lot of time and road miles to source, and it ended up being one second of audio on the record.

SAUCE

Then again, I understand how people are just nerds and need to jizz over certain equipment.

I love syro, but I bet I would have loved it equaly if it was done with VSTs.

also

Syro : 8/10
Tomorrows Harvest: ???/???

[re-phaelam-ed]

Sorry for the following lengthy review:

I like it. It makes me giggle.

Thank you.

ha ha ha ha

[el Cerebro]

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

You think his criticisms were unreasonable? I love this album, but I can understand why people would be underwhelmed by parts of it. Drowned in Sound gave it a perfect 10. That's loony.

i tell you what the problem is...people expect too much...want the artist to "redefine music" with every album. fuck these ADD Facebook fucking idiots. the album is freakin' brilliant.

xmas sets me off. fucking amazing.

yes you are entitled to your own opinions...but take it for what it is. its super well done. and the tunes are engaging.

there have been albums that come out from artists that, yes, are lackluster at best. almost seem like they were done through obligation to contract or lack of funds [HP], but this AFX album is far from that. it has a vibe, and is very entertaining.

6.........fuck off. 8.9/10

yes, yes, and more yes!

[mr3]

Pizza guy (Anthony Fantano) gave it a review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-5Ct4eQho

Seems that for peeps who think that musicians are slaves and everything should be about the listener, it's worth a 6.

wow did he just mention "future elevator music" with regards to track 3? this man is gonna be hated on WATMM

I'm still laughing about that review, great find btw. It was like listening to a 7 year old know-it-all try to explain for ten minutes why something sucks. Apparently electronic music must continually "break enough new ground" to land on the radars of people that get into stuff like Zedd or Skrillex or it has diminished value. And that kind of mentality apparently means never hearing 90+% of RDJ while at the same time swearing that he does and expressing how ultimately irrelevant he thinks it is. He actually reviewed it publicly with a mental reality like that. The cherry on top--he thought his view would be this controversial, groundbreaking insight instead of an embarrassment.

One thing I'm loving about the album so far is how I hear so many of his different approaches from the past being brought together in new ways. And almost a week later it's still producing new sounds for me. Good NPR reviews by the way, reminds me of the Hearts of Space show Stephen Hill did on him. I like this idea of seeing critics react to the release too, it's almost like taking a pulse (where there's one to be taken).