Title: Homes & Gardens 2.0
Artist: Haujobb
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 22nd May 2009
Label: Dependent Records
Album Review
The already established digital department of soon fully re-opening German label Dependent Records thought it would be a good idea to re-release a re-mastered version of the HAUJOBB debut album ‘Homes & Gardens’ from 1993 and who could possibly argue against that? The album is justifiably deemed a classic and even 16 years after its initial release shows many of the modern electro/industrial formations how it’s done properly. Right now there’s even talk about releasing the whole thing as physical CD and I strongly vote for that.
Starting the album is the instrumental ‘Haujobb’s State’ which is at first just a low noise billowing back and forth but gradually drifting towards more audible grounds. More layers are added and added like sliced beat loops, samples. Builds from the bottom up to put it that way, while the threatening spirit the atmosphere inherits becomes more and more apparent throughout its progress. A wicked opening! ‘Maternal Instinct’ rolls in with a noisy sample echo and then lets bursting, raw industrial drum kicks speak and command the further duration. If you only know the recent stuff of HAUJOBB then the aggressive and dark attitude of Daniel Myer’s vocals might scare you off at first but if you take a more attentive and closer listen you’ll ultimately realize that it’s the phonetic manifestation of the music’s very own atmosphere. In ‘Yearning’ the aggression of the rhythms is cut back for the sinister mood of the track to unfold widely and to cover everything with its contagious breath at last.
‘Eye over You ‘back in 1994 also was released as a MCD with two additional bonus tracks and a re-construction by legendary act CLOCK DVA. The down-temp piece with a lot of atmospherics between its layers later on gets a more powerful drum section with repetitive harder guitar proving to be a better fit to the vocal delivery of Daniel. ‘Final Race’ kicks off with muffled, kind of slow-motion sound manipulation. Then drums come in and eerie melodies enter the arena before Daniel lets his voice soar over this fundament. A tension can be felt in the track already at this point. It’s brooding under the surface and ends up erupting in slapping, sped-up beat cascades running towards a stirring climax. Once heard ‘Slugbait’ leaves an indelible mark in your memories. The intensity of the twisted, schizophrenic, and shadowy atmosphere is beyond imagination. The rhythm section – as elaborate it might be – can only play the second fiddle here.
Same goes for the title track of the record. One can only bow his hat before this effort and say that this is huge and meant to stay for another 16 years as the entire album does. The re-mastering done on the tracks has wiped the dust off the sounds and makes them come over clear and detailed. Of course it doesn’t sound like a new record. Re-mastering can’t perform wonders and it doesn’t have to if you ask me but the result of the work is audible and that’s more than you can say of many other pseudo re-mastered stuff that is released these days. And it doesn’t destroy the original aura surrounding these tracks. The album should belong to any CD shelve. Now more than ever but for that to happen, a CD version needs to be released first.
Tracklist
01. Haujobb's State - 5:46
02. Maternal Instinct - 3:47
03. Yearning - 5:03
04. Eye Over You - 3:46
05. Final Race - 3:54
06. Kilo-Cycle Respirator - 4:09
07. Tame - 4:04
08. Slugbait - 4:50
09. The Flood - 5:54
10. Homes & Gardens (MY-1) - 5:29
11. Skull Fission - 4:45
12. Mediaeval - 9:51
Line-up
Daniel Myer
Dejan Samardzic
Björn Jünemann
Website
http://www.myspace.com/haujobbmusic
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
{jos_sb_discuss:19}
Comments powered by CComment