AFX* – Hangable Auto Bulb

Plain and simple, this is one of the best experimental electronic works out there. Captivating from beginning to end, with haunting vocals, driving beats and rhythms, and harmonious melodies, Richard James makes an excellent all around release that will be enjoyed for years to come. It's obvious plenty of skill and time went into this production, as the music sounds like a lot of time was spent on it. Recommended for anyone who likes drum/drill 'n' bass, IDM, ambient, techno, or simply good music.

This is unfortunately a rather overrated piece of work, the quality and depth of which contrasts sharply with other mid-period Aphex stuff. Rather, it's a transitional recording, bridging the gap, in some ways, between I Care and the RDJ Album, though it's much closer stylistically to the latter one.

Most tracks here are simply variations of the breakbeat style he was pioneering at the time. My favourite is easily "Every Day," the most melodic and focused of the bunch, but I don't find the record all that interesting.

Well, after only being available on vinyl for the longest time (as well as being hideously expensive because of the limited run), AFX's HANGABLE AUTO BULB is finally here in digital form. And, sure, there's plenty of weird cheekiness--the "mashed potatoes" of "Children Talking" or the whining on "Every Day" give those tracks a silly brightness, but elsewhere, it's the music that takes center stage. The heavy bass throbs of "Custodian Discount" give it an extra substance that makes it pop out of the pack, although the aggressive drum programming towards the middle of "Wabby Legs" stand out pretty strongly as well. "Arched Maid Via RDJ" also has a nice proto-electro feel. The mastering strikes me as slightly odd--the sound seems muffled, or at least not as crisp as you normally hear. So while that's a strike against it, it's always better to have these tracks than not to have them at all.

I thought this was an excellent purchase, Laughable Butane Bob sounds alot like Add n to X in a very upbeat sort of way, and Custodian Discount is v. reminiscent of Freeman Acid (a collaboration with Squarepusher i believe). Arched Maid is top notch, and the synths sound very much like a wah pedal, and he uses some excellent distortion on it aswell. An excellent ep with some great analogue sounds, my favourite melodies are on Every Day.

Yes but why does he say "mashed potatoes"!?

But seriously, some of first few tracks feel repetative when the solo drum beats start. Not that I hate that, its just when the melody is playing with the drums I like it more, but I suppose if it was like that through the whole song, that would also be repetative.

But there are some tracks in there that I regard as my favorites. Mainly Laughable Butane Bob, Every Day, And Arched Maid Via RDJ*.

When I first Arched Maid, it blew me away. The guitar sounds reminded me of aerodynamic by daft punk*(another fav). You could say it is literally an "electric" guitar.

I suppose out of almost every album, there will be tracks you love, and tracks you hate.

Now "get me another wooly"!

Finally, Warp realizes that it can't win by signing all these idle, emo slags and rereleases something worth buying. Good rerelease of the two original EPs. Mr. James FTW!

This great 10th anniversary CD re-release of the two rare Hangable Auto Bulb vinyl EPs is great. It's a prototype for the Come To Daddy EP that was released two years later that even uses some of the same drum samples. If you like Come To Daddy, you'll like this too.
The samples from the Children Talking LP, released by the BBC a LONG time ago, make Children Talking and Every Day pretty sinister, especially when they're time stretched and pitch shifted.
Children Talking is a great intro with its Come To Daddy hats and comical samples. However, when the synths come in and the samples are stretched and pitched, it becomes pretty sinister when it then transforms itself again into a jig for a while, and then runs back to the sinister synths and stuttering snares.
Hangable Auto Bulb sounds like Bucephalus Bouncing Ball's older brother. This is obviously what led Aphex on to that track.
Laughable Butane Bob has one of RDJ's typical melodies that I find quite warm and comforting amongst the IDM beats.
Bit, a six second sample of a warbling beat, shows Aphex's humour.
Custodian Discount rings of drukqs. The long detuned synths and distorted 808 kick drums give it that feel.
Wabby Legs has the ride cymbal of one of the Come To Daddy tracks. This track transforms itself as it goes on. At the end, a completely new sound is introduced which seems rather odd, but typical Aphex.
Every Day combines the Children Talking samples with Come To Daddy's drums and drukqs' synths. This is one of the best tracks, if not THE best, of this release.
Arched Maid shows AFX's soloing skills and he's pretty good at it. I love this track as it shows a different side to his pre-programmed work, that's still good, but sometimes very inhuman.
Overall, this is a great release and a great prototype to RDJ's later releases.