Add Insult To Injury

South London’s Add N To (X), when not making hardcore porn promo cartoons, specialise in a bolstered and reupholstered variation of what used to be known as electro-rock (pre-post-post rock anyone?) constructed from real-time drums, manipulated synth, robot bass and vocoded vocals. It’s a blueprint broad enough to include garage-surf, space rock, late-seventies synth-pop a la John Foxx-era Ultravox, and ‘60s bachelor pad kitsch in a Stereolab stylee. In other words, the theme music for a very old episode of Tomorrow’s World.

Most of the tunes are smart, angular and minimalist, with ‘Brothel Charge’ and ‘Plug Me In’ being particularly endowed with punch and pop sensibility. The Ed Wood prog-baroque ‘n’ roll of ‘The Regent Is Dead’ ain’t half bad either, but deduct points for ‘Monster Bobby’, an unfunny Glitter Band pastiche that totally screws up the continuity of mood and would be far better served on some grisly grebo retrospective or Fat Les B-side.

Otherwise, this is one act who juggle so many points of reference including Devo, early Roxy, Yello, The Rentals, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Air, Suicide, Daft Punk, Mirwais, Elastica, New Order, The B52s, not to mention former patrons Pulp – they’re almost originals.

File under quirky, but cool.