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Cover Art Aphex Twin
Come to Daddy
[Warp/Sire]
Rating: 7.2

Honestly, Aphex Twin's been creeping me out a little lately. Over the psychotic, twisted drum-n-bass are psychotic, twisted voices saying things like, "I will eat your soul/ Come to Daddy" and "Ooh you/ Dirty little boy." It also sheds a new light on his bizarre "To Cure a Weakling Child." Maybe it's just me, but I think it's time someone had a talk with him. Sure, it's all in jest, but child rape is a touchy issue. (No pun intended.)

Musically (and this should come as no surprise), Come to Daddy is the audible equivalent of strobe lights and crack cocaine. He gives us a good dose of sped up, confusing beats and mystery distortion minus the bullshit 60's film samples. Though, Richard D. James has done better work than this, some standout tracks are nothing short of terrific. The dizzying lovechimes of "Flim" and "IZ-US" are among the most incredible things ever done with a computer and keyboard, and stand out as his best work yet, even if they don't seem to fit alongside his gruesome kiddy antics.

I'm still confused as to whether Come to Daddy is a new full-length or an EP (my bet is on the latter), what with three different versions of the title track and a remix of "To Cure a Weakling Child." All I can say is, it's either gonna freak you out or turn you on (depending on whether or not you've any pedophilic tendencies) and probably make you dance while it's at it.

-Ryan Schreiber

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10.0: Indispensable, classic
9.5-9.9: Spectacular
9.0-9.4: Amazing
8.5-8.9: Exceptional; will likely rank among writer's top ten albums of the year
8.0-8.4: Very good
7.5-7.9: Above average; enjoyable
7.0-7.4: Not brilliant, but nice enough
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2.0-2.9: Heard worse, but still pretty bad
1.0-1.9: Awful; not a single pleasant track
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