ALBUM REVIEW: Aphex Twin ‘Caustic Window’

With 2001’s ‘Drukqs’ being the most recent release from James D Hunter under his Aphex Twin alias, fans of the electronic musician and composer will have been ecstatic to see a digital copy of his lost album ‘Caustic Love’ surface on YouTube after a long and winding process to bring it to the masses.

Having been recorded during Aphex Twin’s most fruitful years in the 1990’s, there is not much that is known as to why this album was never given an official release but luckily, for any fans of electronic music, we now have the opportunity to listen to the entire album in full.

As soon as the album begins it is evident that this could have easily been released as a follow up to 1996’s ‘Richard D. James’ with it’s musical styling emanating that which made Aphex Twin a clear influence on the productions of such respected acts as Daft Punk and The Prodigy. With it’s vocal sampling and mesmerising beat, ‘Mumbly’ is a standout track early on in the album as it hypnotises you (as the majority of the album does) and offers you the chance to listen closely to every instrumental lick as the endlessly repeating tune enthrals the mind.

Much like Aphex Twin’s previous releases, much will be made of the diverse time signatures and use of various electronic recording devices and instrumentation adopted to create this sound that has become the ‘Aphex Twin sound’. Digital blips and swirling, mesmeric beats take your mind on a journey throughout this album but it is not without its faults, which could shed some light as to why it was never released.

‘Popeye’ and ‘Afx Tribal Kik’ are two notable tracks on the album that are both sub 1 minute 30 seconds in duration, giving the impression that this album was never entirely completed. Both of these tracks offer a more regulated sound to the unconventionally patterned tracks on the rest of the release and so it could be suggested that Aphex Twin wasn’t happy with the final sound of them, which could be why they both end so abruptly and aren’t allowed to come to a more natural conclusion.

Having been absorbed in the musical journey that ‘Caustic Love’ takes you on, the final track, a recording of someone’s telephone conversation titled ‘Phone Pranks’, sees us eavesdropping on a prank by someone named Richard and provides a random and somewhat underwhelming ending to this non conformist piece of British electro history. At the end of the track, however, you can hear a tiny blip of noise – could this mean that there was more for us to hear that had been removed before the album was released?

With thoughts of a ‘Caustic Love 2’ possibly on the horizon and with copies of the vinyl test pressing currently being sold on ebay for $23,000 (at time of writing), Aphex Twin is once again the name on everyone’s lips in the electronic music scene so surely it can’t be long until we get another official release from the master of abstract ambience.




Matt Tarr

Matt Tarr

Urban Music Editor
With grime and hip hop being major influences on him growing up in South East London, Matt's passion is urban music but over the years he has gathered a hugely diverse taste, ranging from Wiley to The Smiths by way of Machine Head, that has made him a very open minded individual.
Matt Tarr