Mind.In.A.Box returns to the list! Glorious! Haha, introductions aside (see previous review, Crossroads) I think it’d be fair to say by now that the “order” of this list of Top Ten Albums has since disbanded, as my uncooperatively fickle mind has struck, once again! Now, onto the subject matter. After due (and I mean *DUE*) consideration, I believe Mind.In.A.Box’s most consistent and robust effort has to be, none other, than 2004’s Lost Alone. This was Mr. Poiss’s first step away from other projects at the time (Parsec), to work on his first solo music project, which, he explained, was quite different for him, working with something other than a Commodore64 SID chip, and only a small studio to start from. As his background implies, however, Lost Alone does churn out some blissfully “chip”-esque sounds (see Change). And one mustn’t also forget, the debut of those famous vocoders! The pace and true resonance of which can be heard on the self-titled track. It really is difficult to point out an absolute favourite on Lost Alone as I’ve grown so fond of each individual track, in it’s own way, and I promise any prospective listeners out there that this is NOT a cut-copy-paste industrial act! These guys definitely are the hallmark of this sound. The “story” of the Austrian duo’s epic debut follows Mr. Black, an agent of justice trying to uncover the mysteries behind a few of the world’s deviants, as he suspects the have implications to a much larger scheme, “tailing” scenes and tense phone conversations and all. As the world or “Dreamweb” of the Mind.In.A.Box universe (and on this release, in particular) stresses upon a world in which technology has become dominant and isolation and poignancy are widespread, the setting for this tale couldn’t be more appropriate. As a side note, a fellow electronic producer-to-be, the thing I can most appreciate in this release is the precise attention to detail through which this album was crafted, so much so that it was held from public ears almost a year before its official release to refine the mixing and mastering to perfection. The last thing I’d like to say before I wrap up this review, is how seamlessly and brilliantly sequenced, this piece was. It sounds really intuitive of an aspect, but really, you’d be surprised how much more profound an experience, proper sequencing of an album, can make (see beautiful intro, Light & Dark). Now then. Seeing as this album has been public for what, hmm, almost 8 years? I think I’d officially consider it blasphemous to those whom haven’t heard it yet? So what the hell are you doing?!! Haha. Enjoy guys, Lost Alone. ;)
Jesse and I decided to watch The Number 23 today. I’ve seen it before but Jesse hasn’t. I think the movie’s great, especially because Jim Carrey is in it and he usually acts in comedies. As soon as we finish watching it we will write each others reviews on the movie.
- Stefano’s review:
I caught onto the comparisons between Jim Carey’s character and the book as he was reading throughout the first half of the film, and I definitely saw things coming the first time around, watching it. I didn’t find it very cliche, and I really admire the creativity and attention to detail put into this movie. To sum it up, I enjoyed seeing Jim Carrey in a role a lot different than what he conventionally plays. Last but not least, I picked up a lot on the videography tips and tricks that went into this film’s production. My rating would be about a 7 out of 10.
I thought it was cliche. I thought it was gonna be more cliche than it already was. Like how he was gonna contemplate dying from the bus. The whole dementia from being obsessed was already done before. What I did like was how it wasn’t cliche in the sense that the main character wasn’t alienated. Like I really like how the son was in on it and how he was smart; I liked that part about it. I enjoyed how Jim Carrey was represented as the character in the book, and how it was filmed, the colours of the monochromatic background mixed with the bright red blood (although this is stylized and has been done before, just pointing that out). The wife having an “inside job” was a twist you can see coming; another cliche. If anything it’s one of those movies you really need to see a few times to really get the full story. Anyway, if I were to give it a rating out of 10, I would give it a 5.
What did you guys think of the movie?
Via Stefano Catalano
(Source: makunahatat-a)
Me, with my pathetic three-stringed bass.. xD
Compliments go to a dear friend, whom stylized my photo akin to Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours. <333
Number six on the list is none other than Silent Alarm by Bloc Party. This is probably the album that started my interest in indie rock and anything alt and under the radar. In my eyes, it has to be the indie album of the decade. For its time, it just seems like it had so much original and experimental material to offer. What I really liked about it is how it managed to stay in the realm of “dance” without heavy reliance on electronics, as this band keeps the formula pretty straight with your standard bass-guitar-drum setup (excluding Russell’s array of guitar effects). Another notable point with this album is Matt Tong’s highly technical and skilled drumming chops (see Luno), they add so much flare to every track, even on ones that may have called for something liter (see So Here We Are). In any case, one thing is certain about this album, and the reason it has become so wildly popular, and that is the really strong strong songwriting. So whether it be to just listen to on a rainy day, play during a party, or just to raise the hype or energy in general, Silent Alarm has plenty of interesting twists and turns to add, highly recommended, this one.
Jari Maenpaa’s Wintersun as number five. Although I’ve seen myself falling away increasingly from metal these days, this thing is a total breath of fresh air for me. Wintersun is the solo project of the aforementioned Jari Maenpaa, former frontman of Finnish folk metal band, Ensiferum. Jari was fired by fellow bandmates once they got wind of him choosing studio time for Wintersun over their scheduled tour dates, and I must say, evidenced by the end result here, it was a damn good choice on his part. Once commenced, the album begins its beat down with Beyond the Dark Sun, where any ties to folk lore are made shamelessly vivid. As the album progresses, there are a lot of interesting shifts in focus from slower songs that build (see Sleeping Stars), to full blown ten minute arrangements that span several story arcs in their lyrics (see Starchild). My personal favourite moment from this album is Sadness and Hate, where Jari makes most use of the last few minutes to really showcase the pain and isolation and desperation he drew from in order to craft such a masterpiece (at age 19, no less! Talk about impressive), with a beautiful string outro that has me shed a tear upon every listen. If you’re looking for something to break the monotony with metal music, this is where your ears should be, graced by this timeless classic.
Mind.In.A.Box’s Crossroads as number four. Mind.In.A.Box, who hails from Austria, is the project of Stefan Poiss and Markus Hadwiger, who initially begun crafting soundscapes for video game projects, hence MIAB’s very particular sound. For me, this album is the PERFECT manifestation of night and everything dark, eerie, mysterious, and wondrous that it has to offer (see Into the Night), and therefore, claims its throne as the soundtrack to night. Perhaps the most interesting, under-the-surface feature, of this piece, is the continuing sci-fi and cyberpunk story it tells through it’s lyrics following a character named Black, which deals in mostly Introspection, Identity crises, and isolation. Expect to hear heavily-processed vocals and beautiful meshes of synthesis and gentle piano to carry it along.
Number three on my list… is none other than In Ghost Colours. Apparently written on a whim, Cut Copy, a trio from Melbourne, Australia, unleashed this upon the world in 2008. The best adjective I can use to describe this thing… is frikken LUSH. The sounds are lush, the synths are lush, the guitars chords, the basslines, the drum grooves, LUSH. And crisp, I just love how all the guitar and acoustic bits are so sweet and genuine and how much tone and colour they add to tracks like Feel the Love, Lights and Music, and Nobody Lost, Nobody Found. There just isn’t anything to dislike on this for me, constant spins, this one. The most neat aesthetic about it, I think, is how the band purposely has every track flow and swim into the next one so that, listened as a whole, it really is just a seamless, cohesive experience. If there’s anything I’d love to hear by coincidence on a night out clubbing, it’s this thing.
