Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Disappear Here - by Hybrid


Something of a review here of an album that has been played pretty much daily, often multiple times, for the past month.

Hybrid: "Disappear Here" (2010, Distinctive Records):
http://www.disappearhere.info/

Hybrid have been known for mixing symphonic, soundtrack-inspired orchestration with hard beats and aggressive electronic production since their stunning debut "Wide Angle". That and the follow up, "Morning Sci-Fi" each were split between tracks with slightly menacing vocals and instrumentals that often swelled from lovely or eerie into manic breakdowns.
With their prior LP, "I Choose Noise", i rather feared that they had fallwn victim to repeating themselves. Not only is the album the most break-beat inspired, the orchestral strings seemed a little tacked on. So imagine my surprise and enjoyment when "Dissappear Here" recharged and reshaped the group.
Chris Healings and Mike Truman, producers since the beginning, have now added vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Charlotte james, who's voice drives no fewer than 8 of the 12 tracks, ranges from wounded ballads ("Disappear here", "Salt", "Numb") to in-your-face declarations of empowerment ("Original Sin", "break My Soul"). Many of the tracks have a decidedly live feel and a traditional song structure. Howeever, where Hybrid stick to the strings and beats formula (stunning opener "Empire", "City Siren"), or stir up differentr genres (the mysterious, soundscapy "Green Shell Suit"), they're clearly concentrating on a wider range of emotions.

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