Man Without Country: Maximum Entropy (Lost Balloon) Review

Man Without Country

Maximum Entropy

Lost Balloon

Feb 17, 2015 Web Exclusive By Scott Dransfield

The huge success of indie crossover acts like M83 and Passion Pit naturally led to a wave of moody electronica and synth-pop that has lasted the past few years. These electronic artists usually fall into one of two camps: dark and brooding or giddy and sugary. Occasionally one will come along that nicely blends the two (looking at you, CHVRCHES), but that seems to be a tough line to walk. Man Without Country, a Welsh duo that follows closely in M83’s footsteps, aims for a kind of emotional flight with its grand sweep, but mostly lands in the overcrowded realm of dark electronica.

Maximum Entropy certainly has some effectively grandiose moments. It’s hard not to get swept up in the big synth washes of “Romanek” and “Deadsea.” Meanwhile, the intricate beats and processed vocals of “Entropy” are intriguing and show a glimmer of personality. Mostly, though, the sounds and styles put together on Maximum Entropy are nothing new. Even “Laws of Motion,” the ebullient lead single featuring M83 and White Sea’s Morgan Kibby, while catchy, succeeds in the same way that “Midnight City” and countless others have done. One has to ask: what does Man Without Country bring to the table?

Maximum entropy is a statistical principle (whose Wikipedia page is difficult to understand for the un-enlightened) relating to the amount of information a source can hold. Man Without Country has produced an album that contains a huge amount of synthetic sound. It’s listenable and pleasant, and has promising snatches of creativity, but mostly it’s unremarkable. (www.manwithoutcountry.com)

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