HAUJOBB POLARITY ALBUM METROPOLIS RELEASE: JULY 31, 2001 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 20, 2001

I want to start by saying this album is brilliant. That is a hard opening line to follow up on, but I will continue by saying that "Polarity" is filled to the brim with superb sounds, smart ideas, complex rhythms and intelligent song writing. It is also full of incomprehensible lyrics, and a somewhat annoying voice, but those are minor details of the whole.
The Haujobb sound has transformed a lot through the years, from an EBM-like sound, through more complex soundscapes, to the last album's minimal ambient drum'n'bass. "Polarity" shows yet another change, but this time it's kind of a reverse change, as it has more in common with "Solutions for a Small Planet" than "Ninety-nine". It still has that Haujobb vibe though, and if you want the minimal style, Daniel Meier has side projects like S'apex and Architect to cater for your needs.
There are a lot of very good songs on "Polarity", like "Last Hero", "Subsonic", "Sinus Problem" and "Violator". The latter is a slow paced beautiful track and the closest to a ballad Haujobb has come for a long time. My personal favourite is "Last Hero", with twitching beats, a fat bass line and a beautiful chorus. Between each "real" track, there are short sub sections that mostly consists of sweeping noises and ambience.
This is an excellent return of the dancier Haujobb and this album contains some of their best songs to date.

JOHAN CARLSSON