Add N To (X): On The Wires Of Our Nerves

Considering the amazing ease of composition allowed (and encouraged) by modern recording technology, consumers must be wary of the right equipment falling into the wrong hands. After all, anyone who sets his mind to it can record a perfectly passable stab at electronica on a four-track: Witness San Francisco's mildly subversive Matmos, a duo that transforms garage-sale detritus into radically reformed and rhythmic neo-electronic pastiches. Add N To (X) epitomizes the problem with coddling every kid who buys a vintage Moog at a yard sale: On The Wires Of Our Nerves is a big, unimpressive mess of squawking, farting, and burbling synths that pretentiously aspires to be something more than three studio geeks putzing around. Though a big hit overseas, this electronic equivalent of Hawkwindian self-indulgence sounds especially pale compared to truly integrated electro-acoustic outfits like Stereolab and Trans Am (which have their own quality-control problems with which to contend). Well, there's more to electronic music than turning on a keyboard and letting it buzz about on auto-pilot, and it takes more than static noodling to shake up the world. If you paid big money for the import, the joke's on you.