Track Listing

1. Energy
2. Looking Down
3. I Can't Breathe
4. Rain
5. One Small Choice
6. Sweet Frustration
7. Stalker
8. Gravity
9. Underwater Silence
10. Back And Forth
11. Beautiful Addiction
12. When I Drown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107944 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Californian rockers Audiovent might boast two blood ties to nu-metal hearthrobs Incubus--singer Jason Boyd and guitarist Ben Einzinger are the little brothers of Brandon Boyd and Mike Einsiger respectively--but there's a lot more to their debut, Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris, than a column-grabbing family tie. Immersed in the history of rock & roll greats like Hendrix, Zeppelin and the Who, Audiovent have delivered a slick American rock record with a classically anthemic sound, but a thoroughly modern metal kick.

Like pretty much every Yank angst contender, they dip into the clichés a little too readily: "The Energy" uses American shrink-talk to vocalise the pain of emotional separation, Jason Boyd singing "Every now and then I think about you / it's bringing me closer to closure" like he's stretching out on a psychiatrist's couch, not confronting his demons. Still, the song's titanic chorus drives it home with the insane power of a Faith No More oldie; and with songs like the seismic "Gravity" and the subtle, atmospheric "When the Rain" to follow it up, such niggles pale into insignificance. Forget Incubus a moment: this is a debut that can stand on its own two feet. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Audiovent may boast bloodlines to Incubus (singer Jason is the brother of the latter's frontman Brandon Boyd, while guitarist Ben's older sib is Incubus fretman Mike Einziger), but a complex and melodic approach towards music are the only similarities between the two bands. Throughout their impressive debut DIRTY SEXY KNIGHTS IN PARIS, Audiovent avoids merely cranking up the distortion and instead keeps a steady hand on producing well-crafted hard rock songs. Between drawingfrom early-'90s grunge influences and working with Goo Goo Dolls producer Gavin McKillop, this California quartet does a fine job of appropriating the loud-soft-loud method of composition; see the sitar-tinged "Rain" and the hard-hitting "Beautiful Addiction", with its subtle, dream-pop guitar.
Able to play as loud and hard as any of their contemporaries, Audiovent truly shine on songs falling outside of the aggro-rock box. Most notable are the sweet pop of "Sweet Frustration" with its mostly acoustic sound, and "When I Drown", a piano-driven cut featuring Einziger and drummer Jamin Wilcoxon vocals surrounded by light string arrangements. DIRTY SEXY KNIGHTS IN PARIS succeeds in presenting a different side of aggro-rock by a group that's more than Incubus' baby- brother band.

Customer Reviews

Once a Knight is not enough!
I like this album! I like it a lot! When lead vocalist Jason Boyd sings "We are the energy...", his rich voice surfing over waves of powerful guitar, I believe him! I don't need any further convincing. The trouble is, this is just track 1! The band then continue with another 11 tracks which back up his statement.

2002 is shaping up to be a pretty good year for albums, with Butch Walker recently releasing his solo album and the likes of SR-71, TSAR and EVE6 all due to release theirs. Those of you more open to the Nu-Breed of melodic rock bands out there may well recieve AUDIOVENT like manner from heaven. Opening track 'The Energy' builds from a slow intro to tear out of the speakers at you, and just when you think you know what to expect the arrangement changes and knocks you off balance. And therein lies the genius of this album. There is a sense of creativity and thought gone into the songwriting process that lifts it head and shoulders above most other current rock releases. In fact it's difficult comparing the album as a whole to another band. Not because there's a unique or original sound here, but because the individual elements just combine so well within such finely crafted, powerful songs.

Highlights are almost too many to count, but on 'Rain' Boyd almost sounds like Hurricane's Jay Schellan. At other times the vocals are reminiscent of Mansun, but throughout the guitar of Ben Einziger is set to stun, laying sheet after sheet of melodic powerchords down, whilst never smothering the song itself. 'Sweet Frustration' slows down the pace, and the album closer, 'When I drown', is an almost acoustic piece. Then it's straight back to track one again. I defy you to play this once and think 'Ah, it's OK!!"

Atlantic have found a gem here. For once a band that sounds like it has the potential to really take on some of the big names and make a dent in the album charts of the world.

For anyone looking for powerful melodic rock songs in a contemporary 2002 style, look no further.

I can't recommend this highy enough.

Awesome So-Cal rock
I heard of Audiovent years ago (back when they were just plain 'Vent') but never got the opportunity to listen to their music, and I didn't make the connection from their old name to their new one. Then I recently found out that three quarters of them were related to Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger of Incubus (one of my favourite bands, who I've been listening to for 7 years) and I decided I should check them out, hoping that talent is hereditary!

Well, this album is a really strong, solid, major-label debut for the band, and doesn't disappoint. The fact that I absolutely adore Incubus' music has led me to compare the two styles of music and the vocals of Brandon and Jason Boyd, which is perhaps unfair (as anyone who has ever had to suffer in the shadow of their older sibling knows - and I am one of those people!), but it's inevitable, I guess.

Anyway, I'm diverging....from the first song, I was hooked. 'The Energy' is without a doubt one of the best songs on the album, and as it's title suggests, is saturated with energy, pathos and passion. It blew me away. It's AMAZING. The other two best songs on the album are 'Underwater Silence', which creates such a swirling atmosphere that you can imagine yourself being underwater. It's anguish-ridden and has an eerie beauty. The other stellar song is 'Beautiful Addiction', in which a destructive relationship is compared to a drug dependency. These songs are the cream of the crop.

Other good ones are 'Stalker', 'Looking Down' (written about the band's desire to diminish the emphasis on the Incubus connection), 'Gravity' (very fast and furious), 'The Rain' (sitar-like effect on the guitar) and 'Sweet Frustration' (which is good when it kicks in, mellow and laid-back).

The other songs I haven't mentioned are good as well, I don't actually believe there is a single bad song on this album, they are just more homogenous sounding and don't stand out so much. But they are still all good, and there are very few albums that you can say that about. The one song on the album which is radically different to the rest is the last song, 'When I Drown'. Apparently a 32 piece orchestra was used on it. Jason Boyd's vocals on this don't sound quite right for some reason, and it doesn't sound really like him either. But this is a good song, with a heavy swirling atmosphere pervading the whole song. The background vocals particularly recall the sound of the Beach Boys.

So there's my synopsis. If you like Incubus or Hoobastank, you are sure to like this. Jason Boyd does at moments sound like Brandon, but mostly he sounds closer to Doug Robb of Hoobastank. His voice is just as melodic as Brandon's, but whereas Brandon's voice is deeper, more quirky/idiosyncratic/charismatic and his style is something of an acquired taste, Jason's voice leans more towards the high notes and is probably less distinctive than his older brother's, although he probably appeals to a wider demographic as a result. Lyrically, Incubus delve into a wide range of socio-political topics as well as relationship type stuff, whereas AudioVent have stuck to the tried and tested method of writing about miserable relationships, so there isn't the same scope of expression. Also Incubus' lyrics have more of the poetic touch, whereas AudioVent is more simple and basic in its wording, and are sometimes quite amusing (e.g on Stalker: 'I'm static, you're clinging, you're my Klingon').

But hey - I'm not criticising. It's just very difficult to describe their music without referencing Incubus, particularly since I love them so much!
This album is a good slice of straight, melodic, hard rock. And yet another reason why California is the king of alt. rock bands (Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Hoobastank, Rage, SOAD etc etc).
Get this album!

Audiovent - Audiobliss
If you haven't heard of these guys then you'll have heard of their siblings. Despite this, family connections is the only connection between Audiovent and Incubus. Audiovent, have a more rock-orientated feel to their music as opposed to Incubus's experimental music. Free from the didgeridoos and DJing that make Incubus so unique, Audiovent sticks to the good old guitars, bass and drums. The combination of the instruments and Jason Boyd's (yes, it is Brandon's brother) voice come together brilliantly on tracks like 'The Energy'. A great varying choice of brilliant songs graces this album which is definitely one to get. Of course, the old 'just like Incubus' tags will come along as they did with Hoobastank but, also as with Hoobastank, they are unnecessary and untruthful.