The question of whether Add N to (X) is a rock band posing as a dance outfit or vice versa is made irrelevant by the deft merging of the two styles on “Loud Like Nature,” the group’s fourth LP. Rather than attempt to cash in on the ’80s electro revival currently in vogue, Add N to (X) sticks to its formula of vintage synthesizer freak-outs propelled by diabolical live drumming. The album commences with “Total All Out Water,” a foaming cauldron of Moog madness whose only mantra is “let the rhythm take you over.” The band’s purposeful primitivism is clearly evident on “Sheez Mine,” a chant-along song that’s impossible to sit still to. The band slows the gallop down to a hands-and-knees crawl on “Party Bag,” a song one would expect to hear during an alien sexual encounter in outer space. “Loud Like Nature” is hard to take seriously, but it shows that those old analog treasures still have a few good songs left in them.—JDF
