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. ;)
