Oct 07 2026 19:41
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is way better than volume one, do you agree with me?
"This is my favorite Aphex Twin album, and my favorite album overall in the ambient and dark ambient genres. With 24 tracks and a running time of 2 hours and 36 minutes, it’s simply incredibly long and beautifully immersive. The first time I listened to this album in the winter of 2025, I was completely stunned by how insanely amazing it sounds, especially all that gloominess in the album—you can really feel the whole experience. I gave 17 of the tracks a 10; people might think I’m being glazing, but these are actually incredibly amazing tracks. We could dissect this album for hours, so let’s begin with this: my favorite track is “#7.” You saw that video I posted back then, “When winter came, and you played #7 by Aphex Twin”? And so, it’s just a masterpiece of a composition, there’s something mysterious, and mostly it brings to mind a dark, frosty-feeling winter, and I’m really looking forward to winter so I can feel that vibe again. “#13” is by far the most depressing song on this album; it really sounds like disappointment, as if you see no meaning in life and just want to kill yourself. That’s how the sound itself comes across to my ears, pretty tragically. "#22" is the most uncomfortable and unpleasant of all the songs on the album, but to me it sounds like a narcotic. I just listen to this song and sit there in a stupor, feeling as if something strange is being done to me, or as if I’m inside a particle collider. "#3" and "#20" are the most pleasant and heartwarming songs; their soundscapes easily melt your heart, and they can easily be called the best tracks on this album. "#17" and "#19" are also pleasant and charming songs that lift your spirits a little and give you a sense of light freedom. "#4," "#5," "#10," "#12," "#16," "#21," "#23," and "#24" are dark ambient songs that give me goosebumps. they all convey such serious fear and anxiousness, and for me, these tracks are the bleakest on the album. All the other tracks are just as gorgeous, and it's worth mentioning "#1" as well, which sounds like a true ambient masterpiece. And to me, this album is seriously underrated, with only three songs having 10 million streams on Spotify. Dude, that’s way too little; every track is worth its weight in gold. This album will definitely become a favorite of mine. Is this album worth listening to? Fuck yeah, it’s a masterpiece, one of Aphex Twin’s best works."
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