Pitchfork

The first new music from Aphex Twin since 2001's polarizing Drukqs comes courtesy of the two-track Analord 10, which, in addition to being the first of 10 installments in the Analord series, boasts a hefty pricetag of £40 for the disc and case designed to hold each subsequent release (merked by the Rephlex $oldiers!). While there's admittedly not much to like about RDJ's grabby-handed business practices, it's hard to hold a screwface when he drops tracks like these. Rich and beautifully textured, these two slabs of dark, wobbly techno may not be worth £20 apiece, but they certainly hold up to James' densest, most detailed works.

But don't be misled by comparisons to James' older material; unlike the relatively accessible, circuit bent pop of his mid-90s commercial heyday, Analord 10 is deep, impenetrable stuff. Like a jazz veteran who has long abandoned clean simplicity in favour of tangled up chaos, Aphex suffocates his melodies and hooks under layers and layers of analog sounds and fleeting ideas. With its skittering breakbeat and chiming harpsichord interlude, banger "Fenix Funk 5" is the more immediate of the two tracks, but it's the murky brew of sprawling B-side "Xmd5a" that ultimately proves more rewarding. Stretched out over eight minutes and incorporating a mess of different sonics, "Xmd5a" evolves from bleak, lumbering electro into a drip, drop, drip-drop-dripping backsplash of acid techno. Difficult, moody, and utterly beguiling, it's tailor made for a spliff and a good pair of headphones-- but that's provided you can still afford them once Rephlex have their way with you.