Customer Reviews

Morning Sci-Fi (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When, in the early spring of last year, a virtual-whisper reached my ears about Hybrid's second album, I instantly set about the task of acquiring a copy for my immediate gratification and aesthetic examination. I've been a fan of the Welsh-based breakbeat group from the moment I heard their storming debut `Symphony' in 1998, and in the years following, I scoured the windswept heights of elitist import-only shops and plumbed the depths of cyberverse filebanks for special releases, lost tracks, secret remixes; when Hybrid's symphonic zeitgeist *Wide Angle* was released overseas, I bought the Japanese import regardless of the cost. Thus: after contacting certain `sources,' I acquired a promotional copy of *Morning Sci-Fi,* Hybrid's long-delayed sequel/follow-up. Could it meet expectation? Would it shatter the mold and usher in a whole new era for this unbelievably talented group?

Alas! Expectations are ever destined to bring disappointment. To my pleasure, I found that Hybrid had retained many of their core elements: synthesized soundscapes of the highest quality; organic instrumentation including guitars, strings, horns and woodwinds; all underpinned by some of the sickest breakbeat percussion ever committed in the genre. Moreover, there was a newfound darkness to the material - the album sounded like a natural extension of and artistic shift from *Wide Angle*. And yet, to my chagrin, I also heard elements that were initially disruptive to the Hybrid experience, most notably the group's new vocalist, Adam Taylor. "What were they thinking?" I muttered to myself, displeased with how Taylor's tone clashed with the music. The delivery came embarrassingly close to histrionic, and those lyrics. . .! The angst-y, juvenile subject matter induced many a cringe in my first dozen-or-so listening-sessions.

Eventually I adjusted to Taylor's voice and came to enjoy *Morning Sci-Fi* for what it was, consoling myself with the opinion that *Wide Angle* had had its share of horrid guest vocals as well: the bland `Fatal Beating,' the hilarious-in-a-bad-way "frog-hop" of `Sinequanon' - truth be told, none of Taylor's tracks could match that French-rap-wannabe atrocity (...I'm an American and culturally biased in this regard). Upon my twentieth listen I decided that this was a great album, vocals notwithstanding; and when *Morning Sci-Fi* finally received a stateside release, I plunked down the cold cash for it, happy to never again have to hear that English voice announce, over the peaks and breakdowns, "HYBRID: PROMO COPY." So imagine my surprise to find that the boys behind the racks had decided to further tinker with their second outing, adding electronic dimension to Taylor's limitations (explicit use of echo and reverb), editing several of the tracks that had overstayed their welcome (Know Your Enemy, Gravastar). Also included was a bonus track of almost pure symphonic form, the exquisite `Lights Go Down, Knives Come Out,' though its placement in the mix - or rather, lack thereof - is one of the factors that made me lessen my rating by a star.

The music: Morning Sci-Fi begins with an amalgam of reverse-engineered strings and drunken rant courtesy of the notorious DJ John Creamer. After its short duration, a high-hat emerges, chattering insistently; bass-synths churn and growl; and Taylor's electro-tweaked Taoist blather slowly insinuates itself into the mix - a much-improved alteration on the stark vocals of the promo-copy. Hard 4/4 drums and the recognizable bass of New Order's Peter Hook dominate the mix soon after. The song ends on a slow, melancholic note, and flows nicely into the futuristic breakbeat of `Know Your Enemy.' The Arabic-influenced `Merrikech,' drenched in reverse-sampling, is another standout, while `Visible Noise' and `We Are In Control' serve to kick the album into high gear, the former with its pounding riffs and rippling breakdown, the latter with a funky bass/break combo and vocoder announcements of the Orwellian vein. `Higher than a Skyscraper/Steal You Away' peaks the album - a smashing combo - and `Gravastar' levels it with industrial clang and lockstep 4/4 kick-hammer. `Out of the Dark', Taylor's fourth vocal cut (!) maintains the tension. Finally the mix exhales with `Blackout', featuring the lovely-piped Kristy Hawkshaw and some truly epic string-work via The Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg.

*Morning Sci-Fi* also comes packaged with a supplement DVD, featuring two documentaries and two live performances. The first documentary concerns Hybrid's 2001 tour with Moby (who comes off as a bit, well, `egocentric'), while the second chronicles the process of making the album, though for some strange reason one of the key factors - the studio break-in that changed the entire course of *Sci-Fi*'s artistic synthesis - is totally omitted in favor of band members patting each other on the back. The less said about the live performances, the better . . . though it is rather amusing to see Taylor try to occupy himself with rock-star poses while the band slowly saws toward the vocal sections.

My biggest gripe with Morning Sci-Fi (the reduction of a star) is the fact that one of the best tracks on the entire album, `Lights Go Down, Knives Come Out,' is "cleverly" hidden: one has to spin the album back from the first track to access it. This doesn't work on many CD players, however, including the Gemini CD-2000x I DJ with for my professional occupation. Also, I'm somewhat disturbed by the implied notion that Hybrid plans on continuing to work with Taylor - after hearing him mangle `If I Survive' during a live performance for One World, I am utterly aghast at this notion.

In conclusion: Hybrid has shown their technical/experimental chops with this album, and for the most part I'm pleased with their artistic decisions, having a healthy respect for ambition, even if it isn't fully realized. Change and experimentation are necessary for continued growth and better craft. I only hope they hire new (and better) vocalists for their future sci-fi symphonies. _Then_ we might hear the masterpiece these boys are more than capable of.

As a slight defense/correction of another review below: This disc is not copy protected. The problem lies in a "hidden" track included on the disc. If you put the disc in a standard audio CD player and do a reverse scan from the start of track 1, you'll find a hidden track. This hidden track does cause grief for some CD-ROM drives.

As for the album itself -- At first listen I was really not enthusiastic about it. It was not the same gritty, dancy breakbeat I'd come to associate with Hybrid. However, after a half-dozen listens, every track has grown on me to the point that I now prefer it greatly to Wide Angle. "True To Form", despite somewhat out-of-place bass work by New Order's Peter Hook, is top-notch composition, nice lyrical work, and overall a fantastically orchestrated and understated piece. And, happily, the album improves from there.

Rather that sit back and formulatically churn out the next dance floor stomper, Hybrid has absolutely _composed_ a complete album, using carefully designed melodies, rich environmental context in each song, and an overall sense of a well-tuned musical machine hitting its peak. Now, after that run-on sentence, let me say that while it's not a dance-floor oriented album, it's also not some repetitive, droning ambient collection, nor rambling abstract IDM work -- it's the best of what I've grown to love about Hybrid: Fantastic writing, and terrific orchestration, no set formula, and no pretentious overtones.

This is probably the most difficult review for me to write because I consider "Morning Sci-Fi" to be so damn good, I don't even have the words to describe it!

I got hooked on these Welsh guys after hearing their remix of Filter's "Take A Picture" about two years ago. I was blown away by their remixing style. They totally re-worked the song into something extraordinary.

Those of you who have not heard Hybrid's debut album, "Wide Angle", are seriously missing out. Their music can be best described as "visual electronic". Sounds corny, I know, but the songs are so melodic, so layered and textured, that you can't help but visualize them.

When comparing this album to Wide Angle, I can say that it's actually even more polished and ambitious. It's also darker and relies less on vocals and more on Hybrids distinct sound. To me it seems that the guys have definitely taken a step in the right direction. The sound is dark but has enough light underlining texture to keep it easy to listen to in any mood.

Adam sings vocals on four of the songs, and personally, I like his singing style. One Adam song, "I'm Still Awake", is mellow and almost sounds like depeche mode but the production is so great that you don't even care about the non-traditional Hybrid sound that it holds.
Tracks like "Visible Noise" and "Know your Enemy", which were released some time ago, are polished up here. They both work very well in conjunction to the album. "Higher than a skyscraper" is a stand out track for me. It's one of the songs to feature the Hermitage Orchestra and it evolves and expands into an emotional roller coaster ride.
Actually, most of the songs expand and evolve. For example, "True to Form" (the official first track, after the intro), starts out slow and then builds up into layer upon layer of guitars, breaks and grave-deep bass.
I can honestly say this is the best electronic album out today. I'm so glad to see it #169 on the sales rank. It's pretty damn good for an electronic album, these guys deserve it. Listen to this album from beginning to end and you'll see why it's so difficult to review.

And also, I'd like to comment on how well they mixed the songs. As the songs end, bits and pieces of them merge with bits and pieces from the next song. I really dug that.

Hybrid, the welsh duo of Mike Truman and Chris Healings, has done it again with their followup album to Wide Angle with an amazing array of new beats and vocals to keep you bopping you head. All though this album isn't as upbeat and energetic as the first album back in 2000, the feel and creativity of Hybrid is still very much present.

Starting out with "True To Form" gives a good varity of beat and vocals to start off the album. People argue that the vocals on the track aren't fit, but I think it adds to the orginiality of their sound. The darker sounds gives some mystery to their collection of songs and numerous remixes.

Songs like "Know Your Enemy", "We Are In Control", and "Visible Noise" bring back Hybrid's hard breaks, which is what most know Hybrid to do best with. They sound at the top of their game when you listen to this beautiful haramonized songs and always leave you waiting for more.

This CD Is a great addition to your collection if you are a longtime breakbeat fan or someone who is looking for a good start to the world of electric music alike. A very rare find these days!

I'm going to come down hard on this album. Hybrid's standards have been riding extremely high and they deserve a review to reflect that...

I must admit that I am a little disappointed by this release. After spending hours jamming to both the live Hybrid mix sets available online and Wide Angle/Additional Productions, I've found their latest offering, Morning Sci-Fi, to be a little too bland for my tastes.

The sound of Morning Sci-Fi heralds many new influences. The contributions of several guest musicians (ie. New Order) give a couple of the tracks a bit of an 80s nostalgia. The beats are straighter and have fewer breakdowns. As a change, synth pads seem to carry the melodies, giving the orchestral additions more supportive roles than they enjoyed in Wide Angle.

Indeed, I'm going to agree with the consensus of the earlier reviews: the melodic composition has suffered. The songs are less cohesive and, while more mature technologically, show a step back in artistic class. The vocalist, Adam Taylor, sings lyrics which are decidedly sophomoric and uninspiring. Sitting too far ahead in the mix, Adam's voice and style reminds me of James LaBrie's, the singer for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. And, as in Dream Theater, the vocals seem like too much of an afterthought... melodramatic and superfluous. The isntrumentals are definitely the highlights. The strings, now a Hybrid staple, carry too little of the melody and seem like more of a production trick than they did in Wide Angle.

On the positive side, the album sounds fantastic. The basic production is outstanding. The DVD is killer. And, compared to recent releases in the funky nubreakbeat genre, this is a welcome experiment in variety. I applaud Hybrid's desire to expand their sound and I'm confident that, in time, their formulae will find some great compromises. Morning Sci-Fi is, despite these faults, a really good album that will get plenty of spins in my player. I grin ear to ear when it's good and cringe when it's bad. I vote for three and a half stars...

I'm grading harsh to bring the customer average down to a reasonable level, but let's be frank: this album is not great. It reflects the disappointment I felt upon hearing BT's new work, as he and Hybrid now appear to travel along the same vein. Both employ embarassing lyrics on subjects of not-too-far a departure for this genre of escapists. Sure Wide Angle was like that. But Wide Angle had Class. Remember If I Survive? That song was compelling and explosive; in no way the teenage-angst wailed away by this Adam Taylor guy. Sasha's Airdrawndagger had the sense and maturity enough to omit vocals completely. Coe knows all about the majesty of electronic music through its obscurity in interpretation. Hybrid should have taken note of this, especially since they have apparently terminated their relationship with Ms. Harding.

The string accompaniments are flat and wholly uninteresting, featured on maybe half the tracks that they polished in Hybrid's debut. The cohesion is gone as well, as the first half of the album is a game of hopscotch (think Creamer and K's Bedrock-numbing mix). You'll find no groundbreaking work like Finished Symphony on this album. The strongest (and filthiest) song, Know Your Enemy, has been out on vinyl for a year. Here is your breakbeat gem. The rest can go by the wayside. (Visible Noise, while good, has no place out of a mix. Check Satoshi Tomeii's NuBreed release.) Hybrid has always been pushing the electronic envelope but has now stumbled into a pit of stewing basslines and narrowed pursuit of one-upsmanship.

This is the first review I thought of writing right after a cd purchase. Fermentation allows you time to pick up on the subtle joys of an album. But now is the most poignant moment where I will not tollerate compromise from my expectations. Ok, artists change and I understand that. But the fact doesn't relieve my disappointment.

The Morning Sci-Fi disc is one that showed up on my recommendations list. I enjoy a lot of techno/electronica music and I guess that's why. I'd never heard of Hybrid, but the disc seemed worth a try.

Morning Sci-Fi is likeable music from the first play. Parts of it are reminiscent of Chemical Brothers music and other parts remind me of Orbital, but it has it's own distinct character and there's no doubt about that. All of the 12 songs are seamed together to such a degree that in most cases the only way I can tell that a new song has come on is to note the number change on the CD player. Thus, when you put this disc on you have a continuous 78 minutes stream of music with the mood varying from song to song. But in addition, the mood varies considerably within each song. Playing this disc presents an amazing sonic background ranging from light and dreamy to dark and somber with considerable varieations in between. In places Hybrid really rock and in other places their music gets down to a soft whisper. Instrumental arrangements go from lush string-rich orchestrations to total percussion ensembles and every mixture between the two. About a quarter of the music is accompanied by vocals. The music is never dull, but I find my listening interest waxing and waning along with the continually changing moods. I like to use electronica music for aerobic dancing workout sessions and this disc works splendidly.

All of the songs are reasonably good and it's hard to pick favorites. I tend to have a higher regard for sections lacking vocals, but that's just a personal preference. Others might feel the opposite. If I had to pick the best selections, I'd go with "True to Form," "Know Your Enemy," "We Are in Control," "Higher Than a Skyscraper" and "Gravastar."

It's an unusual recording, in my experience. Interesting stuff. Well done.

This album is great. I really don't understand how and why anybody would write a practically three page essay describing what they hate about this album... ludicrous. See I have been a Hybrid fan for years. And this beats out wide angle by a huge margin. I listen to this disc all the time and it never gets old. The songs are all much better than most on wide angle, especially Higher than a Skyscraper and Gravastar. If you like Hybrid or if you are new get this, then try wide angel you wont be disappointed, I guarantee it!

I've read quite a few mixed reviews on this album, but I have to say, just like Wide Angle, Morning Scifi is one of the greatest CDs I own. The production is absolutely incredible. The orchestration is beautiful. The guitars were a lot more subtle than I expected with all the "guitars by" credits in the liner, but (just like the orchestra) they added the perfect amount of acoustic pleasure to the harsher digital synthesis. At first, I was afraid of hearing vocals by a lead male, after all the lead female singing from Hybrid's previous album. But after listening to the album five times through now, I have to say that Adam Taylor's I-have-problems-annunciating-correctly brit-pop voice just WORKS so well with Hybrid's evolving style! I actually prefer hearing him sing over the incredibly talented classical sounding Kirsty Hawkshaw.

I have only one gripe, which really isn't a huge deal. Overall I think this CD is a 5/5!

My Gripe: Don't let Kirsty Hawkshaw write lyrics until she has more experience. Whenever I listen to "Blackout" I keep having the urge to talk back to my CD player, letting Ms. Hawkshaw know that if she wants the lights to go out, she needs to cut the CURRENT, not the voltage. But that's just the engineer in me coming out. ** Please do not use analogies you do not understand. ** To me, Blackout's lyrics are a little like Alanis Morissette's Ironic, which, ironically, wasn't ironic at all.

In closing, Hybrid is still at the top of their game...

For the future, whatever they continue to come out with, I really hope they don't get too caught up in the world of plug-ins. Yes, allsihad (Pro Tools) and its plug-ins are very convenient, but they just don't sound as nice as even digital out-board gear, let alone outboard analog gear. Please don't ever pull a BT on us.. Keep it mixed up. The best part of Hybrid (the group) is how they create a hybrid style of music (if you will) by combining together the best of the digital, analog, and acoustic world. I hope they keep it that way! Some people like to hear real singers, not over 6000 edits of a real singer. ;-)

I'm surprised to see so many negative reviews for this album. I thought it was a great progression for Hybrid in general.

Basically, I liked Wider Angle for Hybrid's apparent knowledge of and artistry with Sub-frequencies along with sweeping melodies and an enveloping sound.

With this new album I can definetly say that Hybrid has harnessed the frequency spectrum even better with tracks like Gravastar, Out of the Dark, and Higher than a Skyscraper. With any of these tracks I can put a person in my car and have them intranced in seconds of listening to the earthquake-type rumblings at the beginning of Higher than a Skyscraper or the 'everywhere' bass at the beginning of Out of the Dark.

With any Techno, half of the game is the instruments that you are able to create, and the other half is what you do with those. I believe that in both of these aspects, Hybrid has grown considerably and I can't wait to hear what is to come.

I like this CD more every time I pop it in.