Add N To X Add Insult To Injury CD

Add N To X: Ann Shenton, Steve Claydon, Barry Smith.
Additional personnel: Rob Allum (drums).
Recorded at the Villa Noailes, Hyres, Provence, France and Loon Wire Studios, Sheffield, England.
Synth-loving post-rockers Add N to X continues its exploration of vintage analog equipment and experimental sounds on its fourth full-length, ADD INSULT TO INJURY. The group tones down the noisy clamor of releases like AVANT HARD in favor of a more varied and subtle sound, which is not to say that ADD INSULT won't challenge listeners. The mix of post-punk, krautrock, blues, space-age bachelor pad music, and classic synth-pop is surprising and alluring, but it's put together in a way that will please listeners who might have been scared away by Add N to X's previous efforts.
Add N to (X)'s Add Insult to Injury should come with the disclaimer "no analog synths were hurt in the making of this album." The trio made an art of abusing their instruments on albums like 1999's brilliant Avant Hard. However, on their fourth full-length album they show a surprising streak of humanity toward their equipment, resulting in a curiously subdued, inhibited-sounding work. The division of labor on Add Insult to Injury is also curious. Ann Shenton, Steven Claydon, and the High Llamas' drummer Rob Allum wrote and performed eight of the album's songs, while Barry 7 wrote the other four. It gives the album a less-than-cohesive feel; most of Shenton and Claydon's songs, such "You Must Create," put textures ahead of melody or structure, making them sound like cuts off of old synth reference albums. However, the fuzzed-out "Brothel Charge," the sleekly menacing "Kingdom of Shades," and "Hit for Cheese" -- an S&M-tinged synth-punk duet between Shenton and a robot -- are standouts. Meanwhile, Barry 7's tracks, which include the excellent "Monster Bobby," a stomping chant sung by soccer hooligan androids or a robotic Gary Glitter, and the streamlined, cute-as-an-iMac "Plug Me In," are more focused and accessible. "Incinerator No. 1" recalls On the Wires of Our Nerves' beautifully ugly noise, and "The Regent Is Dead" is both elegiac and martial, mixing a synth choir with theremins and a snare-driven beat. Add Insult to Injury still feels like a small step backward after Avant Hard's synapse-frying creativity and energy, but it reaffirms that Add N to (X) are still a step ahead of most other vintage synth-based groups. Hopefully, they'll return to what they do best: sacrificing their keyboards in the name of art. ~ Heather Phares

3rd Rel

Q (11/00, p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...With a further emphasis on trashiness...[It's] all rather cheeky from a band who could be pointlessly punishing. It suits them."
Alternative Press (12/00, p.90) - 4 out of 5 - "...Furthers the argument for humanizing computer music, as well as the electronification of '70s rock'n'roll."
Magnet (1-2/01, p.75) - "...This experimental, garage-rock party is too genuinely f***able, too bare-knuckled, to be kitsch. What it is, then, is sweaty garage-electronics without the benefit of referencing a bygone era..."
The Wire (10/00, p.58) - "...Essentially 'fun' songs....this is pop music of the first order."
CMJ (10/16/00, p.24) - "...Marshall stack-sized ugly noise....'Monster Bobby' reveals itself to be 'Rock And Roll Part Two' for the I Robot set..."
Mojo (Publisher) (11/00, p.96) - "...Their most playful and downright enjoyable collection of drums'n'retro electronica so far..."
NME (Magazine) (10/28/00, p.41) - 8 out of 10 - "...Like some lysergically envisioned soundtrack to a Francois Truffaut, Roger 'Barbarella' Vadim or Ken Russell '60s experimental movie..."