Aphex Twin - Ventolin CDS (Sire/Warp)
5:46 Salbutamol mix
3:22 Praze-an-beeble mix
2:12 Marazanvose mix
4:34 Plain-an-gwarry mix
4:36 The Coppice mix
5:55 Crowsmengus mix
7:13 Wheeze mix
2:54 Carharrack mix
4:15 Probus mix
5:06 Cylob mix
6:22 Deep Gong mix
1:39 Asthma Beats mix
Alright, this gets a beating. Sure, Sire comes through with the
domestic version for cheap, and it's got all twelve mixes of the song in
question, and all twelve mixes do sound different. But, it's in one of
those repulsive locking digipacks, and, quite frankly, I could have done
without 8 or 10 of those mixes. Half of this disk is fatally
self-indulgent, and even the rest seems like an inside joke that only a
fanatic could appreciate. I guess I'm not a fanatic. The Salbutamol mix
would be a cool track along the lines of the PCP remixes if it wasn't for
the high-pitched whine that permeates it. My speakers do a wonderful job
of reproducing this at faithfully high frequency, and it makes the song
sound like a dentist-drill lobotomy. For self-indulgent, try the
Praze-an-beeble mix, with a minute of "Mum laughing". Ah, that's great
music, all right. Mum sounds like a baboon on helium.
However, the Wheeze mix is Aphex in all of his brash obnoxious
glory, and the Deep Gong mix is transformed by Luke Vibert into something
that is, against all odds, funky. Except for these two tracks, the rest
of this alternately bores and annoys me, so I guess that means I don't
like it.
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do (Sire/Warp)
7:36 Acrid Avid Jam Shred (94)
4:50 The Waxen Pith (93)
4:19 Wax The Nip (90)
6:07 Icct Hedral (edit) (94)
4:29 Come On You Slags! (90)
6:05 Start As You Mean To Go On (93)
5:18 Wet Tip Hen Ax (94)
3:51 Moo Kid (94)
5:11 Alberto Balsam (94)
5:34 Cow Cud Is A Twin (93)
4:43 Next Heap With (94)
Well, hmmm. After hearing the Ventolin single, I prepared for
the worst. Really. I like Aphex Twin as much as the next guy, but his
recent work left me bored. ( I realize that , around here, the next guy
may want Richard's love child, so let's just say that I think he's damned
good and damned inconsistent.) Plus, album titles about how much "I
care" coming from the king-sized ego of RDJ, don't promise great things.
But, the music's good. The acronym song titles and any attendant
silliness are unavoidable, but the music is good, and this is a music
review. (Though the diabolical self-portrait on the front deserves
mention.) There's stuff here that reminds me of old favorites, and some
material that moves in new directions. He gives a year for each cut, but
I can't really see any difference or any real trends.
Acrid Avid Jam Shred is a nice little excursion, solid, might
have come off of SAW1 without raising a fuss. The Waxen Pith is a
pastoral track, nothing threatening. Wax The Nip sounds like a reworking
of Tamphex -- it's old enough, but it sounds good on its own. I'm not
sure why this track was selected to be put on the album, though --
aren't there any other "hardcore" tracks from back then? Icct Hedral
sound like the "classic Aphex" too. The edit of Ventolin is a chunk of
the Salbutamol mix, and I've already registered my dislike of it, but at
least it's short. Come On you Slags! is another rough-rhythm track that
could have come from Xylem Tube. It's got lots of vocal samples and
other nastiness. I like it.
Start As You Mean To Go On is hard, clattery and mean. It's kinda
Joryex-like, and I like it very much, thanks. Wet Tip Hen Axe is rather
unremarkable ambient, but not bad. Moo Kid harks back to SAW1 again,
with an odd rising and falling tone that should be annoying but, instead,
is oddly comforting. Alberto Balsam is a spare and minimal track with a
little keyboard line and rhythm, but it's all right. Cow Cud Is A Twin
sounds like RDJ meets the Beastie Boys. It's got that laid-back,
we're-barely-off-time-and-probably-off-key-but-it's-all-right funky
Beastie feel to it. Finally, Next Heap With is a strange mix of organs,
horns and synths. It's sort of like a mix of carnival music and elevator
muzak, with a climax. Sort of. It wouldn't be all that out of place in
the classical genre.
This is a solid album. Not stunning or groundbreaking, but solid
and enjoyable. There's no real duds on this album, which is progress.
The real problem is that so much of it sounds like earlier Aphex. I love
earlier Aphex, and I like the stuff here that sounds like earlier Aphex,
but it doesn't bode well for the future that the best tracks sound like
old work. On the other hand, I love the old work, so I won't bitch.
We'll see what comes next. (Isn't it great how he's got us eagerly
awaiting the next album just a few minutes after we get our hands on this
one?)
---
"The only way to deal with bureaucrats is with stealth and sudden violence"
-- United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Jesse Stricker jstrick@gladstone.uoregon.edu