RED FLAG CODEBREAKER T133 ALBUM PLAN B RELEASE: DECEMBER, 2002 REVIEW: JANUARY 29, 2003

"Codebreaker T133" is the latest product from the almost ridiculously productive duo Red Flag. The American siblings say they are particularly inspired at the moment. It seems they have been so for the past four or five years, averaging almost two albums per year!
Some of you might remember I moaned about "The Bitter End" being too dark and slow with cracks in the song writing. Well, "Codebreaker T133" is no sunshine story either, the main difference lies in the tempo. All twelve tracks are 133 bpm as a natural reaction to the laid back, anxiety plagued "The Bitter End" which, to some extent, dealt with the tragedy of September 11.
Overall the sound is more aggressive than usual and a bright contrast to, say, "Naïve Art" or "The Eagle and Child". Most songs sport a terribly misplaced distortion in the chorus, which is not a phobia for hard electronic music on my part, but merely an obvious observation.
There are strenghts, there are weaknesses, as with all Red Flag albums after "The Crypt" (which, like their previous releases, is a held-together, varied album). Worth mentioning is the similarity between many of the pieces and that "Codebreaker T133" would have benefited from being shorter, as there are a few tracks that frankly don't hold water.
On a more positive note, the album has "Shadow Warrior", which has entered my Red Flag hall of fame and it is obvious, perhaps more so than ever before, that Red Flag can handle the whole electronic spectrum. Maybe they need to take some time off, though. Not because what they are releasing is bad, but I'm positive it would be classes better if they worked more on the tracks and then selected the very best ones. That, ladies and gentlemen, would make for one kick-ass album.

NIKLAS FORSBERG