AFX Chosen Lords

• Words: Cameron Macdonald
• Label: Rephlex
• XLR8R Rating: /10

It was around Vol. 4 when I stopped paying attention to Richard D. James' Analord 12" series. The music wasn't bad; it just felt that something was missing. James indulged his roots in acid techno and '80s electro with 11 volumes of singles, but the results often sounded more like a sales shark showing off vintage analog gear in a music shop. Chosen Lords, at least, collects the best of those cuts, proving that James didn't waste all of his time with the new guise. "Cilonen" is a fine dystopian funk track that recalls the stiffness of so many UK sci-fi flicks, while "Boxing Day" and "Klopjob" prove that the Roland TB-303 can still shed a good tear (or at least produce a good weeping sound).