For some of these great albums, I’m going to have to listen to them a bunch of times before writing to get my thoughts together. Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy EP is absolutely not one of those. Released at around the height of his popularity (I think “Windowlicker” takes that crown, though), this is not only an amazing sampler of most of Aphex Twin’s styles (only really missing the ambient work of his early career), but also possibly his best release, or, at least, the most consistent.
Usually, for Richard D. James, there are a couple of terrible tracks marring an otherwise great album (“INKEY$”, I’m looking at you). Here, there are no missteps. But before I go into a track-by-track review, let me say that if you’ve been meaning to get into Aphex Twin but haven’t yet, or you’ve heard a little but haven’t liked it, listen to this record. If you’re totally unfamiliar with Aphex Twin, also listen to this record: he is unquestionably one of the most influential and enigmatic artists in recent years. For a few years in the late 90s, it seemed like everyone was talking about him, and with good reason. While he’s not all he’s said to be—no one can be that much of a genius—his work is, in general, highly enjoyable and definitely worth listening to.
Here we have, as I said, all facets of RDJ on display. “Flim” and “Iz-Us” are both incredibly beautiful and delicate, displaying that almost effortless sense of melody that is in the best Aphex songs. An old housemate of mine and I have a long-running argument about which is better, but on some level it doesn’t even matter. Both of them are what a million artists have been trying their whole careers to make. I should write about them more, but can’t—they’re too effortless and perfect to waste words on.
This mix of “To Cure A Weakling Child” and “Funny Little Man” are both slightly off-kilter, featuring bouncy carnival atmosphere and nonsense lyrics. They’re not as stellar as the highlights on the record, but particularly “To Cure A Weakling Child” is much more well-developed than the average “throwaway” Aphex song. Even on “Funny Little Man” he’s more restrained than he is on tracks like “Milkman” and “Beetles” (from other records). “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball” rounds out the middle section with essentially a study in panning effects.
That leaves us with the three mixes of the title track. The “Mummy mix” is not really worth mentioning, being much lighter in tone than the track really should be. I remember it primarily for the “Go on, give us a snare rush” sample (followed by a brief shock of noise). I find it difficult to even hear the same song in the “Little Lord Fauntleroy mix”. It’s fun and typically Aphex, and keeps attention better than the other, but I never press “repeat” when I hear it.
This is probably because “Pappy mix” is perhaps the best Aphex Twin song ever recorded. The lyrics are somehow delivered in a manner which masks their inane quality and makes them menacing. The standout part of this track, though, is the amazing drum programming. I believe “Come To Daddy (Pappy mix)” contains the best sequenced drum track of all time. Their complexity and fluidity is astounding. Everything drops out at 2:20 to be replaced by a chilling distorted scream that rises in intensity, before finally more bass drums that sound like a horse stampeding towards the listener brings everything back in for an extended coda that sounds like Anvil Vapre-era Autechre. One of the best pieces of music ever made.
If you don’t like “Come To Daddy (Pappy mix)”, “Flim”, or at least the fact that the same man made both of them and then put them right next to each other on his record, then I don’t know what to say.