Armand Van Helden: Nympho : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

You don't need to listen to Armand Van Helden for long before you decide whether you love him or hate him: Keen to repeat a phrase until listeners submit or run in horror from the dance floor, house music's number one thug can be sublime when he picks the right sample to pummel, but pure torture when his judgment's off. His first studio album since 2001's largely irritating Gandhi Khan, Nympho is Van Helden's best work since his soulful 1999 singles "U Don't Know Me" and "Flowerz." Forgoing both R&B and hip-hop flavors, Nympho instead builds upon his love for current and vintage rock in an inspired house-punk fusion that's far more dance-worthy than most guitar-band albums attempting a similar coalition. Whether looping key bits from Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor and Seventies rocker Nick Gilder, or collaborating with new rock acts Virgin Killer and Spalding Rockwell, Van Helden combines yelps, guitars, live bass lines and bombastic beats in a manly mash-up of groove and groan.