The Tuss – Rushup Edge (2007)

The Tuss – Rushup Edge (2007)

Despite Richard D. James’ laundry list of jumbled aliases, The Tuss is the only true red-headed stepchild of the bunch. Though anyone familiar with the project will attest that his decision to essentially go “anonymous” on this material isn’t a matter of quality control (there’s really no obvious explanation, truth be told), as some of the gnarled, acid-drenched production work on Rushup Edge is among his best in the genre. “Synthacon 9″ and “Last Rushup 10″ can wiggle and writhe on the dancefloor as well as anything from AFX’s Analord series, and the malevolent “Death Fuck” bests some of Drukqs’ wankier moments, while simultaneously providing Death Grips’ twisted experimental hip-hop with its unwitting spiritual predecessor. In the interest of absolute honesty, however, I should say that both Tuss records will ultimately be most interesting to the insatiable RDJ fans who have already exhausted the entirety of his known catalog. Rushup Edge is something of a novelty record for Aphex Twin completists, but perhaps unsurprisingly, even James’ less interesting releases still offer plenty of uncanny music to try to wrap your head around.