Almost sounds like the Rolling Stone guy read my review from All Music
Guide:
Despite threatening retirement several times, in 2001 Richard D. James
finally released another Aphex Twin record. But for all this record tells
us, he may still be in retirement. Spreading 30 tracks (most with
unpronounceable titles) across two discs, Drukqs sounds less like a major
new statement from electronica's best producer than the results of a Sunday
afternoon's trawl through his hard drive for files he hasn't released
before. Many songs here evoke the feel of recordings long since past, from
the quiet ambient-techno of his breakthrough Selected Ambient Works 85-92 to
the demonically extroverted programming of Richard D. James Album and the
Come to Daddy EP. Stylistically, the record leans toward the later
recordings, with many tracks here reprising the off-key melodies and
overloaded drum programming of "Come to Daddy" or "Windowlicker." There's
also little rhyme or reason to the program; James veers directly from a
drill'n'bass firestorm ("Cock/Ver 10") to a delicate piano piece a la Erik
Satie ("Avril 14th") to an acid-techno burner ("Mt. Saint Michel Mix") with
barely a glance backward for transition.
Of course, aside from all the criticism, the previously unreleased musings
of Aphex Twin are still far more intriguing and solid than most producers'
best releases. The opener "Jynweythek Ylow" and "Ruglen Holon" are
brilliant, inscrutable pieces reminiscent of a rusty, bygone music box or
the gamelan music of Indonesia. And a few of the second-disc highlights,
"Meltphace 6" and "Taking Control," chart a middle-ground between the
emotional ambience of early Aphex Twin and the wracked hysteria of his later
work. Drukqs is a sprawling album that defies listeners to understand or
enjoy it as a whole - it would've made a much better fan-only release than
the long-awaited return of the techno vanguard's favorite producer. - John
Bush
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Auz59kebtsq7n
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org