Customer Reviews

Hangable Auto Bulb

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It's a little hard to believe that Aphex Twin's Hangable Auto Bulb EPs are now ten years old. These two twelve-inch vinyl singles were very obscure when they first came out; only three hundred copies were pressed, and few people got a chance to hear the music. But now, in retrospect it's clear that they were undoubtedly a turning point in AFX's career, for better or for worse. Almost everything he recorded after this, all the way through 2001, is a variation on the style of Hangable Auto Bulb. Now Warp has reissued both EPs on one disc, and it's time to give them another look, ten years since.

For all its obscurity, though, Hangable Auto Bulb started one big trend. This is a jungle album. It might not be the first record to ever use that style, but that doesn't matter, because Richard D. James second-guessed all the hype that would build up around jungle, put his own face on it, and thus placed himself right at the front of all the changing fashions of electronica just as they were about to start moving even more frenetically. With his high profile and critical reputation, AFX legitimized the style and gave it a voice, and thus opened the way for any number of lesser musicians to find success in that brief period of time.

I describe this somewhat grudgingly, because jungle does not appeal to me personally so much, and because the advent of jungle quashed a number of other developments in electronic music that I liked more, like the danceable, melodic style of Aphex Twin's own first album, Selected Ambient Works 85-92. After Hangable Auto Bulb, Aphex Twin's music changed for good. He became so enamoured of the spastic, sped-up, seemingly arrhythmic percussion style of jungle that he recorded almost nothing different in the next six years. Inevitably, he worked this idea into a dead end, and pretended to retire in 2001.

So, for me, the biggest surprise when I listened to this reissue was how good the music was. I didn't really like it when I had first heard it, a long time ago. Now, I see that it's aged very well, and the sound seems much cleaner and less abrasive than the way I remember it. Maybe the passage of time favours Aphex Twin; once the trends have passed and the imitators have disappeared, his originality shines all the brighter.

Or maybe it's just because he knew when to stop, at thirty-three minutes. A longer album in this style would have been difficult to sit through; the style would have become repetitive and grating. This EP, on the other hand, is both concise and focused.

Then there's the matter of those sped-up percussion tracks. Their speed varies wildly; they seem more or less steady one moment, only to break out in violent bursts the next; they crash chaotically during breaks in the music. But they're not arrhythmic. For instance, there's a part on "Wabby Legs" when, even as the drums appear to flail around in a random fashion, another drum track is actually keeping time. It's like a performance by a really proficient drummer, who can add all kinds of impressive fills without breaking the rhythm.

Better yet, AFX didn't forget the melodies, either. In this regard, Hangable Auto Bulb is the best jungle album ever made. The lead in "Laughable Butane Bob" is just beautiful, all nervous and excited, and taking on a dreamier tone in the break. If Aphex Twin were to release a collection of non-album tracks, as I wish he would, this track would be a sure thing to include on it. "Wabby Legs" isn't bad either, and a couple of other tracks from the first single don't have pronounced melodies, but do use some calm bass and keyboards to punctuate the silence during breaks and provide contrast to the drums. And hey, although "Children Talking" is probably the weakest track on the CD, it does provide a bit of that good old Aphex Twin humour by means of a sample of a voice repeatedly intoning, "Mashed potatoes! Why do you hate mashed potatoes?"

The second single is much better than the first, though it contains only two songs. (Unfortunately, the tracklisting on the CD confuses them; "Every Day" is actually last, and "Arched Maid" just before it.) In "Every Day," a very pretty keyboard line provides the background for a story, of sorts: a woman's voice tells of how her husband constantly hectors her and demands that she fetch him things. The voice is obviously distorted, but there's something so disarming about its tone. When, the woman says, "Every day, things keep piling up over me," it doesn't sound like she's complaining, it sounds like she's basically a good-natured person who's doing her best to put up with this self-absorbed husband, but unable to deal with the strain. It's a surprisingly affectionate depiction, coming as it does from a man who isn't known for his compassion.

And "Arched Maid Via RDJ" easily equals any of Aphex Twin's best tracks. He breaks out the electric guitar, for the first and last time ever, and it is awesome. While the drums bang and clatter, he plays a long solo with a faraway, detached sound, like the kind of feeling one gets during solitary daydreams. I always liked this song, but it's even better than how I'd remembered it.

What else is there to say? If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, his best album is still his first one. This CD, however, is a definitive portrayal of the second half of his career, and the three best tracks are as good as anything he's ever done. Devoted fans won't need my invocation to buy this album, but hopefully it will find a wider audience and inspire a new interest in AFX's accomplishments. But man, ten years...mais ou sont les neiges d'antan?

This was one of the early Aphex Twin records from ten years ago. It was released as two rare EPs. The second one is hard to find. I know this sort of stuff because I spent a lot of the 1990s listening to techno. Luckily for those who own these records, this is a CD only release. Aphex Twin released many records as Richard D. James, but as AFX, it was reserved for often more experimental works, and more obscure. This record documents the early AFX. It often mixes odd drum breaks with the sound of children talking. It's not too different from the recent "Rubber Johnny" record. This is worthwhile.

Well, after only being available on vinyl for the longest time (as well as being hideously expensive because of the limited run), AFX's HANGABLE AUTO BULB is finally here in digital form. And, sure, there's plenty of weird cheekiness--the "mashed potatoes" of "Children Talking" or the whining on "Every Day" give those tracks a silly brightness, but elsewhere, it's the music that takes center stage. The heavy bass throbs of "Custodian Discount" give it an extra substance that makes it pop out of the pack, although the aggressive drum programming towards the middle of "Wabby Legs" stand out pretty strongly as well. "Arched Maid Via RDJ" also has a nice proto-electro feel. The mastering strikes me as slightly odd--the sound seems muffled, or at least not as crisp as you normally hear. So while that's a strike against it, it's always better to have these tracks than not to have them at all.

An amazing album with very unique songs. A must have for any RDJ fan.

This albumn had a lot to be desired a good bit of variety. Some tracks much better than others and some a bit disspointing.

Children talking:
This track had some very spectacular beats on it. The only thing about it that I did not like and many people probably will not like either is that throughout the song a little boy keeps repeating the words "mashed potatoes".
If this was repeated throughout the song with the normal pitch it would not be such a annoying thing. But the times where it is distorted so much and slowed down at teh beginning are what is so annoying. But the song does get better.

Hangable auto bulb:
This song had some excellent fast paced synth beats to it. The only problem with it would be that some of the beats played for too long and became redundant.

Laughable butane bob:
My 2nd favorite, found no problems. Has lots of variety.

Bit:
For a song that is only 6 seconds long you really could not expect much out of this one. Just a small electronic noise without any context.

Custodian Discount:
This starts out very nicely but retains the same sounds too long.

Wabby legs:
This one is the weirdest of them because the sounds are quite indescribable. But still sound pleasant. It has a very upbeat and experimental feel that I loved.

Every Day:
This one was just okay. I don't what exactly there was about it that wasn't great.

Arched Maid Via RDJ:
This one was the absolute best. It had a wonderful strong harcore beat that will be enjoyed by all kinds of electronic fans.

Overall:
This albumn will probably be enjoyed by the more hardcore fans than just casual listeners. But it's worth buying either way.

anyone who knows aphex twin knows that he is weird, but hangable auto bulb... is so weird.

Hangable Auto Bulb was an interesting new EP that combined some different combinations of RDJ's usual warp music. It starts off with "Children Talking" which has a child saying 'mashed potatoes' and a guy afterwards saying 'why do you hate mashed potatoes?' and it goes on from there. Throughout the CD, AFX works in some different kind of sounds and beats through every song (Laughable Butane Bob, Hangable Auto Bulb, Custodian Discount). A lot of the songs seem to be a little redundant in my own opinion though...After "Custodian Discount" a lot of the background beats AFX uses in his songs seem to render towards sounding the same...I'd still prefer to hear AFX returning some of his older styles (Drukqs, Selected Ambient Works, Classics). I thought the EP had a great ending to it. "Every Day" and "Arched Maid Via RDJ" were very nice and easy to listen to and can be enjoyable even to some of the beginner RDJ listeners. Overall I give Hangable Auto Bulb a 3 - 3.5