When I did research to prepare for my review of Add N to (X)'s fine debut, On the Wires of Our Nerves, every quote I read from the band hammered home that they like to think of their music as existing in a genre of their own invention, one they dubbed "avant hard." And now, in case there are still doubters, comes the genre-defining follow up.

So what does this Avant Hard stuff sound like? Well, Add N to (X)'s gimmick (and it is a gimmick) is that they worship the sound of the analog synthesizer in much the same way that Tom Cruise does L. Ron Hubbard. Bands like Stereolab use the Moog as one component of a complex musical hybrid, but for Add N to (X), analog keyboards, and the sounds that can be wrought from them, are ends in themselves. An interesting byproduct of this approach is that the music can be downright ugly. Instead of twiddling the knobs of the Moog to create a feeling of warmth and comfort, the band uses the machine to channel the raw sound of spastic electricity, and the end result can be less than pleasant.

Luckily for those less interested in sonic extremes, Avant Hard is a bit more accessible than the band's debut, particularly when the band augments the fat keyboard sound with more conventional samples (such as on the danceable, hip-hop flavored "Skills.") They still show a willingness to recast conventional forms in their own image (like the shuffling blues changes on "Robot New York"), and "Revenge of the Black Regent" even adds a funny goth element to their sound. There's also an overall funkier vibe to this outing, and most of the songs have enough respect for rhythm to be lumped in with "electronica."

So that's the good news. The bad news is that Avant Hard just isn't as fresh as On the Wires of Our Nerves. The music here lacks the "out of nowhere" feel that made their debut so special. Avant Hard might be a better place to start, but I'm going to stick with the ugly shit.

-Mark Richard-San