Customer Reviews

Hybrid

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Perhaps I am biased because B!Machine is one of my all time favorite artist. Smooth and sensual, his voice is likened to a crooning David Bowie and the music of the softer side of Depeche Mode. You may not leap out of your seats but it is enough to make you sway as you hang onto every lyric.

The music is polished and absolutely stunning. The words are true poetry in every sense and it will make you form mental images that are unforgettable. Melodic but minimalistic
B!Machine (N. Nicoll) knows how to pull emotion from the cold instruments and it will leave you feeling warm and definitely moved.

This is one album that will not leave your player for quite some time.

This was the first exposure to B! Machine (aka Nate Nicoll) that I had, and now that I own all four albums, this one is still my favorite. Hybrid is consistent throughout, never really straying from that pulsing low-key Depeche Mode-esque sound. This music is not for everyone, make no mistake. Nicoll concentrates more on really playing the synthesizer and making unique sounds than writing catchy pop music. Un-Deceived and Victim are the first two tracks on the disc, and are two of the more up-tempo tunes, which remind me quite a bit of Depeche Mode, although Nicoll is no Dave Gahan. My favorite songs are Black Opium, Sleepdreamsleep, and MOAI, which are very dark, melancholy gems. With all of the bad synth rock out today, this is quite a nice, refreshing breath of fresh air from the more radio friendly stuff. I realize that synth rock may have died long ago, but for the few that it has touched, there is no better music. If you are a fan of darker synth rock, give this a listen, it's very good.

B! Machine is one of my favorite synthpop acts out there right now, and this album is no exception. If you've never heard B! Machine, he creates highly emotional tracks, using incredibly minimal arrangements, that still maintain great melody. While I enjoyed the album "Infinity Plus" much more than "Hybrid," it's still a great album. The three tracks that stood out in particular to me on this album were "Umbrella," "Black Opium," and "Sleep Dream Sleep." If you're a fan of moody synthpop, or if you're just interested in finding out about it, this album is definitely one to get.

In this day in age, the synthpop world is nicely chopped up into neat little categories: Electroclash, Futurepop, Retro, blablabla... And yet, B!Machine seems to skirt them all. The music is very calm and resonant, much like what makes the Cure's "Disintegration" such a great album. The difference here being that B!Machine does it all with saturated, dreamy synths and a lush, deep voice. This album goes well with rainy days.

Another great disc by B! Machine. I always have fond memories of Nowhere Girl, and this album brings me back to that. Buy this if you love synthpop.