Aphex Twin
[#] ...I Care Because You Do (1995)
Mood music for the mental.
Reviewed December 1, 2025
It was inevitable that someone would eventually hand me a record I have no idea what to do with. It's not for lack of trying! Apparently divisive even among Aphex fans, ...I Care Because You Do is a procession of abstract electronic percussion devoid of traditional song structure or musical development for songs at a time. At my most charitable, I'd describe it as experimental mood music, though I'm not sure what mood I'd have to be in for these particularly alien soundscapes. At my least charitable (which I will be because I just listened to this twice in a row and now I have a headache), it turns into elevator music for overstuffed, novelty-obsessed hipsters. I can try to appreciate how forward thinking and that bullshit this is, yeah, but I don't reward novelty. I want to enjoy what I listen to.
The biggest lull comes in the first "Wax the Nip" chunk of the album; these aren't so much as songs as explorations of Aphex's overly slight melodies and grooveless drums that resemble clanging wire as much as they do diarrhea. The beat-focused tracks pick things up, if slightly. The screechingly repellant "Ventolin" at last puts some menace where only question marks sat prior, "Alberto Balsalm"'s clinks and pianos leave an inky slinky trail of slime in its wake, and "Cow Cud is a Twin" finally gives you a honest-to-God groove and some bitcrushed gospel-y "oohs" like it's a Wu-Tang instrumental. ...I Care Because You Do asks...quite a lot of the listener. My first time tonight, I thought I was starting to get into it. Second time gave me the headache.
(My deepest condolences to Ryan who requested this. Should've given me Selected Ambient Works or something, mate.)
| Essential: | "Ventolin", "Alberto Balsalm", "Cow Cud is a Twin" |
|---|---|
| Quintessential: | "The Waxen Pith" |
| Non-Essential: | "Icct Hedral" |
| Rating: |  |