“Computer Controlled”
Aphex Twin
Grade: B
Well, that was quick.
Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin, returns once more with an EP bearing the wholly imaginative title, “Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt. 2.” The complexity here is almost palpable.
Getting back to business, “Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments” is a completely different entity from its predecessor, 2014’s “Syro,” though the atmosphere of both are represented appropriately by color. “Syro” is stark white, the other pitch black.
In other words, a yin-yang of sorts.
But where “Syro” was a disappointing, yet serviceable release in regards to songwriting and construction, “Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments” is disappointing in its brevity.
Though it is expected for an EP to be short, the problem is most of the songs are too short to have a lasting impact. Just when the notes start to flow and chisel out a groove, it ends just as abruptly as it started, so they act more like blueprints rather than fully fleshed-out tracks.
Shortcomings aside, “Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments” hearkens back to the sound of the 2001 effort, “Drukqs,” a schizophrenic hodgepodge of quiet, foreboding and ambient pieces and violent, PCP-laced “drill-and-bass” tracks.
The EP resides in the former category and delivers an ominously relaxing soundscape reminiscent of being lost in a damp forest shrouded in fog.
Superior to “Syro,” “Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments” is a satisfying rebound for Aphex Twin.
