Syro cover

Syro

Released

What we’re gonna do right now is go back, way back, back into time. After a decade away, James comes back—entirely unchanged. Or, rather, his form of change is returning to the past. This is a glorious, wickedly good revival. Some of it even sounds like James doing a riff on D-Train records. He even flips the “Apache” beat! This is our man going back into the baby photos and archives to figure out who he is. There’s also a piano track here for “Avril 14th” fans, which the Spotify algorithm has rewarded. I play Syro more than some of the old albums, so let’s call this a case of expertise on display.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Blue Period cover

Blue Period

Beauty Pill
Caustic Window LP cover

Caustic Window LP

Caustic Window
Liye Liye cover

Liye Liye

La Roche
Hubris Variation cover

Hubris Variation

Oren Ambarchi, Ricardo Villalobos
Gob cover

Gob

Dels
Plonk cover

Plonk

Huerco S.
Niun Niggung cover

Niun Niggung

Mouse on Mars
Neurofibro cover

Neurofibro

Claro Intelecto