Armand Van Helden - Nympho / 2005 Southern Fried / 13 Tracks / http://www.armandvanhelden.com / http://www.southernfriedrecords.com / Reviewed 11 September 2005

With a voice opening “Nympho” that links up perfectly with Aphex Twin’s “Come To Daddy”, the rapid insertion of a Primal Scream meets typical dance beat that is present throughout the title track is odd, to say the least. What is exciting about albums like “Nympho” is that they are a reversal of the traditional album; instead of having a vocal presence that dominates the entirety of an album, Armand Van Helden arranges the very drums, guitars and other instruments into an always-kicking and fun techno meets rock mishmash. Crème Blush’ vocals on “Come Play With Me” are not the overbearing (and sometimes annoying) vocals present in other techno/noises acts like Lolita Storm, but rather similar to those that came out of the disco scene of the seventies.

Most exciting on “Nympho” may just be the look back to Nelson and Winger for “Into Your Eyes”, which only too soon gets subsumed into a Daft Punk-esque style of beat. The vocals (which may just be the most obvious artifact of this hair rock influence) will generate fond memories of eighties for some and be a delightful bit of irony for others. The only universal that tracks like “Into Your Eyes” have is that it is a damn good dance tune, using interesting arrangements without just coming back to the same hook ten or eleven times. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a large deal of Latin influence to “Nympho”, something that really comes through during both “Sugar” and “Brainwashing”. This influence is so audible that it really gives the tracks a “Behavior”-era Pet Shop Boys feel, albeit updated considerably for the new millennium. It may just be the case that Armand Van Heldenis one of the only individuals ever to continually succeed using tracks that go far beyond the traditional 3-5 minute barrier; the average track length on “Nympho” still seems short, even when one considers that the majority of the tracks hit five and six minutes without a problem.

Most discs that have so many radio-ready hits are rightfully lambasted as lacking any sort of vision, but “Nympho” comes forth with a very coherent sound. No one should blame Van Helden for having hit after hit on “Nympho”; jealousy may be an acceptable emotion, but that energy and vitriol might just be better served if one dons their dancing gear and gets out on the stage. Pick it up.

Top Tracks: Into Your Eyes, Come Play With Me

Rating: 7.1/10