HIJACK

The band's first misfire in the studio. It's the classic lineup of Karrer/Knaup/Weinzierl/Rogner/Meid/Leopold, yet the band had gone rather void-of-course by this point. The band add strings and brass to their sound, but to little effect (the cellos on "I Can't Wait Pt.1" do make it more interesting than it might otherwise be, though). Mostly bland mainstream rock, folk rock, and even more cabaret stylings (the execrable "Lonely Woman"), plus the ludicrous "conspiracy theory rock" of "Explode Like A Star". Instead of sounding like revolutionaries as on earlier albums, they sound utterly tame, as on the cuddly sci-fi anthem "Archy The Robot".

Still, it's not a total wash. "I Can't Wait Pt.2" has some of Falk Rogner's most compelling synth work. "You're Not Alone", while seriously mainstream, is suitably moody, with lush phasing effects. And the instrumental "Da Guadeloop" offers a smidgen of the old experimentation. Curiously, it sounds mostly like Can.