Aphex Twin - Cheetah

Aphex Twin
Cheetah EP
2016
Spotify

There are a lot of people out there who regardless of what He puts out will call Aphex Twin a genius. There are a few artists like this in the world, Bassnectar and Kanye both spring to mind that can do something mediocre and have it be lauded as perfection. Aphex Twin's last record felt a lot like this kind of musical masturbation, just doing something because it was there rather than because it made sense. Aphex Twin has never been for anyone who didn't expect something weird, slightly off, but the last record was to much of the strange an not enough to really ground it. Cheetah however manages to find that perfect balance and hold on to it. The second track "CHEETAHT7b" even has this bouncy almost club like quality that is uncharacteristic but very very satisfying. That is one thing that Cheetah does extremely well, is always give you that payoff. If you could somehow travel down into the depths of an old school video game cabinet a la Tron this would most likely be the soundtrack. What Aphex Twin also does differently with this record is he never lets the beat slip away. Where on previous releases He would play with timing and pace often leaving you off balance on Cheetah he lets the beat ride out and plays with sound from that point never getting to overly complicated for his own good.

Then there is the richness of his tones. Each sound Aphex Twin uses is the absolute best that sound can possibly sound. This may seem strange, but his ability to capture just exactly what something should sound like is really incredible. Time has always been a non-starter for Aphex Twin some songs tapping out at less than 30 seconds while others still blow past 8 minutes. It, can be frustrating and delightful all at the same time. What is abundantly clear however is that Aphex Twin has a mastery of this kind of music that is simply unparalleled. He continues to innovate and does so in so many different facets of music that it is really incredible. The obsession that goes into each one of his songs it just mind blowing. Each tone is perfected to fit right where it ends up, making for a sound that is so precise it borders on the OCD. But that is Aphex Twin's way, that is simply what he does and Cheetah is one of the finest examples of him leaving it all out on the floor.

8.0 out of 10