Credit: Warp Records
Syro
[By: Aphex Twin]
Genre: IDM
Rating: 75
Cohesiveness: 68
Track quality: 67
Beginner-friendly? kind of
Written 2026/01/26
Syro springs to life almost immediately. This may be Aphex Twin's first studio album in thirteen years, but it sounds as if he never left.
Though it's not as avant-garde as some of Richard D. James' other works, Syro is invigorated with zipping synths and jumpy beatwork, lending it an almost springy, youthful joy. Robust melodies are complemented by creative drums and the occasional vocal harmonization - a harmonization you can rarely ever make out, but a harmonization that nonetheless feels enveloping. Even in its more unsettled tracks, perhaps such as "180db_[130]", Syro retains a pleasing sound that bubbles through the eardrum and vibrates with self-assured contentment. This album takes a distinctly modern, reined-in approach, but at no point does it stray away from what has now become a style unique to Aphex Twin and Aphex Twin alone, alongside, of course, a bizarre song titling paradigm that sounds completely absurd out of context - "s950tx16wasr10 [163.97][earth portal mix]" is certainly several orders of magnitudes above a mere 'mouthful' to pronounce.
Of course, as the godfather (and god, and father) of IDM, Aphex Twin's reputation precedes him. Syro, however, doesn't care. It retains the meticulous attention to detail and the uncompromising conceptual innovation Aphex Twin has deservedly become known for, but this is a record that's far from his most chaotic - in fact, Syro carries with it a vague feeling that Aphex Twin is holding back. Not necessarily in a bad way, though: James opts for an album with personality, with a will to live, with a burbling sound design signature that decides for itself when it needs to speed up or slow down. Syro is pleasant, even lush, but it chooses when it wants to be tough (which is not often).
This album is comparatively less striking, yet still ambitious. Aphex Twin, on just the second track, immediately plunges into a 10-minute journey in "XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix]", and from there it's clear that he will only write tracks to appeal to himself. It's Aphex Twin's world, and we're all just listening in.
But Syro, even still, just feels a little mild at times. The track runtimes are ambitious, sure, but it's a little more difficult to consistently write several engaging pieces upwards of 5 minutes that rely largely on sound design, particularly with the somewhat limited range of this record, to cater to its atmosphere better. Aphex Twin's first studio album in thirteen years just doesn't quite pack enough songwriting mastery to justify the track lengths, particularly with the overall lack of vocals (aside from the amorphous samples that occasionally permeate the soundscape) to ground each cut.
Frankly, I think it would be very wrong to say that Syro is a bad apple in Richard D. James' legendary discography, but it doesn't quite shine out, either. In the grand scheme of things, this is still a pretty strong record, both holistically and atomically. Syro is gold, but it's gold in a sea of diamonds. It's a gold that retains its shine and value even after thirteen years of studio album silence, but it never quite extends beyond 'gold'.
Listen on Spotify here.
minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix] [Fun] | (/100)
Aphex Twin kicks off this album with a shuffling, broad beat and some bubbling synths. The sound design is, as always, intricate, and compositionally "minipops" mirrors its title well, but is cerebral enough to expand out, particularly with the warped vocals sections.
XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix] [Standout] | (/100)
Very dynamic tune. It definitely suffers from being 10 minutes long, and Aphex Twin does his best to make it bubbly and engaging, with lots of cute little synths and atmospheric sections, and though it's not quite enough for this to stand out as an individual track, it's still a good one for the record. Perhaps a little too early to have a 10 minute track.
produk 29 [101] [Atmospheric] | (/100)
This one is a little more paced out, a little more understanding of its atmospheres. The beat is spacey and the padding is a little more pronounced, with less flashy synths and more of an enveloping soundscape, and some very weird sampling. It's also the only track with a reasonably pronouncable name.
4 bit 9d api+e+6 [126.26] [Upbeat] | (/100)
Quite a similar spacey atmosphere to the previous, except this feels much less grounded in its synthwork, with a powerful beat and a floaty sound design signature all throughout even despite the groovy main lead.
180db_[130] [Intense] | (/100)
Thumping techno intro with a couple of sneaky synths moves into a somewhat unsettled, repeating movement that dominates most of the track, being much more intense than the joyous stuff before it, before wrapping back into the techno and a shuffling IDM beat to finish off.
CIRCLONT6A [141.98][syrobonkus mix] [Standout] | (/100)
The sound design here is particularly intricate, with deeper, murkier basslines and some longer, sustained synths in the background. Whilst he's been very bubbly in the tracks prior, Aphex Twin goes glitchy for this one, and it works.
fz pseudotimestretch+e+3 [138.85] [Structural] | (/100)
Super weird interlude that is very short, kicking off with a heavily modulated vocal sample and some relatively simplistic songwriting fit for an interlude at this stage. This doesn't do much at all, but it's fine for the album.
CIRCLONT14 [152.97][shrymoming mix] [Fun] | (/100)
"CIRCLONT14" blasts funky synths from its maw, powered by a strong backing beat and some very curious sound design choices - it sounds bizarre when you isolate any element, but somehow, the track sounds unorthodoxly well-composed throughout, from the whirring synths to the echoey vocal sample.
syro u473t8+e [141.98][piezoluminescence mix] [Laid-back] | (/100)
This could probably be considered the title track if its title wasn't so damn long. Either way, the synths on display here are well-meaning and move through the atmosphere-driven soundscape well, though it doesn't quite click into place at points.
PAPAT4 [155][pineal mix] [Upbeat] | (/100)
"PATAP4" seems to embark on a journey to quash its beat. The drums start out strong and metallic, pushing through, but they slowly retreat and make way for some more padded, rounded synths in a muted final movement.
s950tx16wasr10 [163.97][earth portal mix] [Intense] | (/100)
At this point, the track titles are getting severely out of hand, but musically, Aphex Twin continues about his business. Frantic, cascading breakbeats sit resolutely at the surface of this one, borrowing enough stylistics from the various breaks genres to feel new, but still marked with that distinct Aphex Twin sound.
aisatsana [102] [Laid-back] | (/100)
Simple, bittersweet piano ballad to end off this album. I think it's a very good closer, and it wistfully echoes the sound design witchery that came before, though it's not a strong track at all in its own right.
- CIRCLONT14 [152.97][shrymoming mix] (/100)
- CIRCLONT6A [141.98][syrobonkus mix] (/100)
- 180db_[130] (/100)
- s950tx16wasr10 [163.97][earth portal mix] (/100)
- minipops 67 [120.2][source field mix] (/100)
- XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix] (/100)
- 4 bit 9d api+e+6 [126.26] (/100)
- produk 29 [101] (/100)
- syro u473t8+e [141.98][piezoluminescence mix] (/100)
- PAPAT4 [155][pineal mix] (/100)
- fz pseudotimestretch+e+3 [138.85] (/100)
- aisatsana [102] (/100)