Haujobb - New World March

This isn't going to be the most glamorous of reviews because this album despite all of it's range and personnel is governed by a very simple ethos: mechanized abandon. The words take a back seat to this pair's absolute mastery of the sound field. One track is compressed perfection while there's another on here which samples Matt Howden! Beyond that you'll hear one of my favorite trademarks of this act, minimal loops arcing this way and that while Myer's voice is the only constant. Every last piece of acoustical space has something going on within it, repeated listening sessions reveal microscopically precise clicks, whirs and bleeps. You may have been waiting a long time for this release but among those I've played it for one constant has been the reaction... this wasn't what I was expecting. A more appropriate statement of this band's career could not have been chosen, Haujobb don't do what you want them to. These two are on a plateau few others will ever even glimpse.

For the first time since the genre-eclipsing masterpiece 'Ninetynine', we find Daniel and Dejan once again exorcising the rhyhmic excursions which alienated so many a little over a decade ago. I suppose it was inevitable that this project would take a backseat to Mr. Myer's venture as a member of Covenant but like so many creative endeavors left alone out of the spotlight, the band's new work (the first album in eight years) is uncompromising. There's no pandering to the clubs via meandering mindless floor fodder nor will you get the pop sheen which Covenant contain. No, once more the sterling chemistry of our two fearless heroes is a potent one, it has become something else. These guys listen to an impressive range of music and their methodology of filtering their own tastes through the moniker of Haujobb continues to be a boldly decisive statement of gorgeous artistry. Other names may come and go, enjoying their flash in the pan on dubious 'charts' but how many could go away for this long and not only remain relevant when they returned but also craft truly innovative electronic architecture like what "New World March" contains.

You get the entire album remixed also, if you buy the version I did and I'll cut to the quick: Xabec, Acretongue and Anklebiter hit their marks admirably but it is Binary Park who steal the show with their version of "Little World". I've been keeping an eye on this pair since their debut as they continue to wring every last ounce of feeling out of their gear while composing some of the most insidiously catchy dark electro out there. The others who aren't mentioned could have been cut easily although I wonder how unknown the Unknown remix of "Machine Drum" really is, it has certain characteristics which are of an ultraviolet hue. I'll say no more.

One can hear hints of where these guys left off with 'Vertical Theory' but in all honesty their latest one here makes the rest of their work sound rather simplistic even though no one has improved on their sound since they carved it out. Haujobb's dominance over the field of technological precision is in no danger of being challenged and if not for a few crap remixes, I'd have rated this much higher (even though those aren't Dejan and Daniel's fault, the source material certainly wasn't the weak link). Work like this is what separates the men from the boys, an incredibly brave march this is. I really do hope they don't take so long putting out their next album because this kind of lethal material is in short supply these days, don't forget us guys! Nov 15 2011