HYBRID I CHOOSE NOISE ALBUM DISTINCTIVE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 2, 2006

Wahoo, this is how it should be done! Hybrid’s third full-length takes all the things they have learned up until now, and brings it up a notch. The production work on “I Choose Noise” is absolutely flawless, and while some might argue that the sound upstages the songs, I don’t really agree.

After a short intro, the album proper kicks off with “Dog Star”, a massive track with Perry Farrell on mic duty. This is followed by the quirky beat treat that is the title track, a pretty heavy affair which just oozes atmosphere. As always, the main thing that lifts Hybrid’s tracks above most other progressive dance acts is the strings, played by Northwest Sinfonia. Oooh, the strings! How do I love them? Let me count the ways!

OK, so I won’t, but I’m sure you know how strings can affect a track. Suffice it to say that almost every track on the album benefits from it. None more so than the outlandishly brilliant “Just For Today” though, which ends the album. The beautiful string section here just soars, lifting the song into hitherto uncharted territory up among the clouds. Pay special attention after the break, when the beats gets a’ crackin’, and the violins a’ shimmering. Time for lift off!

Some tracks are even a bit industrial sounding, with the noisy experiment “Hooligan Spirit” in the front row. The dark, melodic and brooding “Choke” with vocals by John Graham is also quite spiky and hard edged, to paraphrase Skinny Puppy.

As a whole, "I Choose Noise" has so much more to give than the last album "Morning Sci-fi" (reviewed here), and I just can’t help myself: I have to give this a score of nine out of ten.

JOHAN CARLSSON