The latest in the recent run of releases from the pen of RDJ is his first under the AFX name since (by my reckoning) the untitled split 12" with LFO ten years ago. If the title is to be believed, it was made in the three years following that — and it's quite believable, because the skewed analog acid sounds are, well, an awful lot like the 11-disc Analord project which also appeared in 2005. It's a pleasing blend of lithe beats and off-kilter melodies, and it is, of course, produced with great skill. But, after all this time, this really doesn't feel like a significant addition to the canon. I can't quite put my finger on why I'm underwhelmed by this whereas I was blown away by last year's Caustic Window LP, a full twenty years old on its release. Perhaps it's age means that it feels neither modern nor vintage; perhaps it's because there was so much of this stuff around that, even at the time, I was overwhelmed by the volume of the Analord material; perhaps it's because the excitement of OMG New Aphex Stuff petered out about five months ago; or perhaps this music simply isn't as good. I mean, obviously I'm still pleased I bought it, but...
I bought this from bleep. They call it Electronic and Electronica Electro and Acid Dancefloor and Techno. They appear to have given a bonus download-only track called umil 25-01 to everyone who bought it. That's a nice piece of work, but very much more of the same.
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