Avant Hard

Add N To X

Product Details

• Vinyl (April 20, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Label: Mute U.S.
• ASIN: B00000IWYN
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #818,236 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Add N to (X)'s three-analog-synths-plus-live-drummer lineup returns for a sophomore go, handily consolidating the ideas that made 1998's debut so intriguing. With Avant Hard they're more precisely controlling of their signature battle-zone squall, but are divining new methods of upping the emotional amplitude, as well. In "Revenge of the Black Regent," for instance, waves of bitter regret buzz and oscillate against an icy marshal drumbeat, while "Barry 7's Contraption" tempers its Spike Jones antics with a melancholy that you can almost taste. Fans of pure screech, however, take heart: cochlea-melting fun is still the group's stock-in-trade. "Buckminster Fuller" sounds like Allen Ravenstine strangling a mini-Korg over a plus-pitched Sigue Sigue Sputnik sample, and blasts of Alec Empire-like intensity infuse "FYUZ." But for a group that raises bombast to such epicurean levels, Add N to (X) have brought into the mix an impressive sense of orchestration--even subtlety--that bodes well for whatever they do next. Can't wait to hear what World War IV is gonna sound like. --Steve Lafreniere

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Top Album of 1999:This Is Art Core, August 16, 2000

By	MaddKhameleon (Singapore: The City of Sin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avant Hard (Audio CD)

It is hard to write a review of such an album, I guess just saying that they are great doesn't do them just. Describing them as an English cousin of Air just because both bands use Moog?No way! Their sound is much scarier and much more exciting than Air.(I have to admit though, Air music is beautiful.)so are they art-skool geniuses or they are just some lunatics trying to scare everyone away, I choose the former. Simply because of this album, its sonic beauty, something Sonic Youth is never able to do, SY might be the Godfathers and Godmother of whatever genre of , but this is music with a touch of my generation, I am only 19 this year, by the way. I can appreciate this kind of music, I am exposed to a plethora of such stuff,from Tarwater, To Rococo Rot to Mouse on Mars. This album, together with 'The Amateur Review' are among the best albums out of the genre I call 'Big Bleep' in 1999. Yes, it is filled with bleeping noise, with a rock core though.Its centre piece,'The Revenge of the Black Reagent' is a sequel to 'The Black Reagent' from their fabulous'On the wires of our Nerves' album, it is even better than the latter, at 3'30'' a gentle, frail voice emerged out of the sonic waves, trying very very hard to compete with the waves, in vain. Finally, her body, voice and her soul were swallowed by the relentless sonic tides. 'Oh Yeah Oh No' sounds a wee bit like Air's 'Sexy Boy', is this their first attempt to emulate Air? 'Machine Is Bored With Love' is a cute electronic ballad, retro,humane and romantic, so there is a future for the co-existence of man and machine i suppose. Cross-breeding might take place, the product(offspring) will look like one of those man-bots on the cover. This is Art and I ranked it as my top most album of 1999, do you believe in technology?If you do, come with me...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avant Hard, July 18, 2000

By	r spielman (portland, or, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avant Hard (Audio CD)

Quite a few people have already writen reviews for this album so I'll try to give a new perspective on it. The best way to visualize this CD is a giant robot with flashing LEDs and flying blue sparks destroying a metropolitan city in a 70's Japanese sci-fi flick while the army's tanks shoot exploding shells and their planes drop screeming bombs. Meanwhile, near the end of the CD, a strange alien child sings a melodic song in attempt to rouse a huge rubbery robot for the final showdown.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Album a High Point for Band, September 4, 2003

By	Gabriel V. Delsaz "snarfquack" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Avant Hard (Audio CD)

This was my first introduction to Add N to X several years back and I remember being amazed by its incredible production, eclectic structure, and consistently excellent melodies. In my opinion this is their best album and is required listening for anybody interested in "electronica" (i use the word cautiously since one word cannot describe the breadth of styles of bands as musically diverse as Mouse on Mars, Add N to X, Aphex Twin, Manitoba, etc). A must buy and an excellent addition to any music collection.