Hybrid I Choose Noise

[Distinct’ive; 2006]

Styles: breakbeat, progressive house
Others: BT, Sasha, Faithless, Breeder, Adam Freeland

Hybrid’s Mike Truman and Chris Healings make up one of the biggest breaks acts going today. As such, it’s par for the course that Perry Ferrell and Peter Distephano of Porno For Pyros, Kirsty Hawkshaw (Orbital, BT), Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order), and producer extraordinaire John Dent (PJ Harvey, Kylie Minogue) had a hand in bringing you the duo’s first album in three years. But, as 50 Cent has proven, being the biggest doesn’t mean you’re the best. So how’s the new album? As you may have guessed by the rating, it’s just as good as their first two full lengths. I Choose Noise doesn’t build on the passionate beats from 1999’s Wider Angle, nor on the soulful depression of Morning Sci-Fi, but it inarguably earns its place in their catalogue with the most refined use of an orchestra yet and an audible maturation of their songwriting and programming capabilities. This is the first album in their canon that actually sounds like an album from the first track to the final note, and not just a collection of singles. In a world where Oakenfold and Tiesto get more watered down with each release, there’s much to be said for Hybrid’s consistency. The small changes and improvements made with each successive album will not only see Truman and Healings staying at the top of the breaks world, but being well respected as artists as well.

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