Aphex Twin – Drukqs (2001)

January 25, 2022

Drukqs has always eluded me. I’m not really sure why, but it just has. Maybe it was the length of it? I would be speculating, to give any more reasons. Well, I finally listened to it, and after completing it, I exclaimed: “Oh OK, cool”. Of course, the maddening Aphex “acid” is on par as per always, but as far as some of the mellower moments go… They seemed to drag a bit, I won’t lie. I love the more chilled or ambient Aphex Twin works, there is an unique melancholy to it to the point where, no matter how spacey it gets, you know you’re listening to a RDJ composition.

My one complaint with Drukqs then, is the sheer number of mellow and piano compositions in a double album of this length. If anything I feel it hurts the flow, rather than contributes to it. None of the individual pieces are bad, but together as an album, I’m not sure if it is a true success.