Customer Reviews

Lost Alone

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many electronic bands try to constantly beat you over the head with high energy and hyper-speed beats throughout the entire album. That really isn't very interesting. Just like having sex or being a baseball pitcher (you didn't think you'd ever see those 2 things together now did you?), it's important to know how and when to change speeds. M.i.a.B. have figured this out early on. They also do a great job of creating atmosphere without boring the listener. The FX are interesting while never bombastic.

The complaint, from the few who are complaining, concerns the vocals and I disagree wholeheartedly. They mix up the sound of the vocals frequently and it's very engaging. They layer various vocal FX, male and female sounding voices, human and computer, computer and alien voices, all within a single track sometimes and it works well. It also makes a point about how all of these things collide within the context of the M.i.a.B. universe. It's a fine point lost on the people who say, "Duh, me no like da compooter voice." Another point I'd like to make is that if you have a huge CD collection then you shouldn't be looking for the same type of vox on everything that you own. Having a few that heavily incorporate artificial, or greatly altered, voices is fine and in fact desireable. Oh, and if you only have 10-15 Cds in your collection... why the he11 would something this obscure be one of them?! It's an obcure Cd in a genre that prides itself on obscurity. In other words, people are going to take a different approach to things.

The CD has numerous good songs with a perfect array of different speeds and vibes although it all has a very sci-fi overtone. The pervasive air is one of mystery, the mysteries within the human mind to be specific, where other industrial may focus on rage or angst. The music and vocals often are understated as opposed to being in-your-face all of the time. The songs that sound like singles like "Change" tend to build up in non-obvious ways. I think most fans of the genre will love this excellent first strike from M.i.a.B. even though it isn't full of dancefloor stompers.

I was exceedingly satisfied with the vocals on this album. This whole album is so intense and new and freakin incredible! The vocal effects create it. I guess some people are used to the same ole' mainstream and they don't understand real art with heart and passion. I heard this album one time on Cyberage Radio and I was hooked. I haven't stopped playing it in months. There's almost a Typo Negative sound in the vocals.. it's deep and sexy. I dig that. And then it switches off. It does have that alien sound to it. It's awesome! It's creative.. it's cool! It sounds killer! It swallows you. It makes you feel and think. That is music to me. It's real. At first, the first two tracks were my favorites.. then I kept playing it over and over and now "You will See" and "Take My Soul" are my current favorites. It's one of those albums where you can't play one song over.. Once you've heard a song, you want to replay it and then the next one comes on and it's ..just as awesome.. so you have to hear that one too.. the entire album is like that. The music is fabulous and the lyrics really hit home. Nothing about it is cliche. It definately comes from a genious mind. I have to be careful when I'm driving to it.. it sucks you in so much, I tend to loose track of how fast I'm going. That's pretty unusual for me. Track 5 "Questions" especially does that to me. I guess maybe you either get it or you don't.. but if you have good taste in music and you appreciate what's great.. you won't be able to stop playing it either.
Listen to it alone. I mean, put on headphones, go outside for a walk and let it absorb you. Listen to what he's saying. If you've ever had a broken heart.. he just states it so perfectly. You can't help but appreciate it.

I bought this after hearing Mind.in.a.Box's second album ("Dreamweb") first, and while "Lost Alone" doesn't have any of the big powerful smashing songs, I think this album is overall better. Every track consistantly brings the melodies and voice modulation that I have come to love from this band. And while industrial music's lyrics sometimes make me cringe, Mind.in.a.Box does not suffer from this problem.

When I listen to this, I don't have to skip any of the tracks, but on the flip side, none stand out as better -- very consistant. Similar artists are few, but I'd place VNV Nation among their ranks. Industrial music is not my favorite genre, but this album is a "diamond in the rough".

I found this to be an album where you have to listen to it, start to finish.. it's, in a sense, like an unfolding story, done with very good atmosphere and rhythm. It's not exactly the most club-friendly disc around, but with the abdunance of club-friendly, lyrically-lacking material around now.. that's not a bad thing, at all. The lyrics are very involved and sensible.

That's not to say that the album is musically boring.. it just approaches it in a different way. It's not a constant 120 bpm throughout.. it's varied throughout, with well-timed peaks and build-ups when needed.

A complaint I've heard a lot of is about the vocals.. and to that, I can only say, it mixes so many kinds of vocals through the length of the album that it's never monotonous.. and it's a different way of approaching the vocals. A lot of bands take a single method.. such as VAC's cookie monster vocals, or totally natural, unmodified vocals.. whereas this band mixes nearly every spectrum into the album. They approach everything in a different way, and different is good.

It was bands like Assemblage 23 and De/Vision which drew me away from the sagging mainstream that's so.. boring, to say it bluntly, and after some years listening to this scene, it became apparent that a lot of bands were just copying others, resting on the laurels of those before. It's bands like Mind.In.a.Box that remind some people that the genre is far from dead, and far from played out.. and this album is a perfect start for exploring the "off the beaten path" of the electronica scene.

LostAlone is an album that transports you to strange intense futurenoir places. Sometimes it fails. But Mind.In.A.Box is a music venture i've been waiting for, and for the first time since the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis, has music been able to create such brilliant atmosphere and tell such emotionally driven stories. "Change" is probably my favorite song on the album, it is strong lyrically and driven by all the aforementioned elements that makes this album strong.

I'm quite fond of the "alien" voice, it enhances the lyrics and sounds great on the dancefloor!

A quality, complex production with a lot of original, memorable songs. It's going to be a hard one to follow up!

This is one of those albums that keeps calling you back...really dark, melodic, depressive electronic music that is truly worthy of being called "futurepop". Mind In A Box actually sound like they are from the future....actually....this would music would be great in a sci-fi movie. Anyways, awesome CD. Sad robots rule!

Put this CD in your player and dive into a universe of sounds, rythms, beats and voices that will leave you "walking" "lost alone" through an exciting vision of the future.

The stories may be straight forward, but they go right to the heart, and the music frees the spirit like few other songs that I heard before.

The whole album (including the artwork in the booklet - great!) creates an atmosphere that just won't let you go.
It makes you think and feel, wanting to loose yourself in this world.

On the whole it's a very refreshing experience created by a very talented newcomer. Check it out!

P.S.: They also got a webpage, which you shouldn't miss. It's got MPEG files available for free !! And in addition you'll get access to some "hidden" files once you type a code that's included in the booklet.

This album is a trancey-EBM tour through the lives of people searching... for forgiveness, love, purpose, all encompassing Peice of Mind. The lyrics are simple, but you get more emotion out of that. "I feel sad, so left alone, words are not enough, for me to live on" Repeated to a beat that just makes you want to move, a catchy song, well delivered and deliciously simple. This is only the beginning. Followed by the tale of someone who comes off as smug and complacent in their self-dillusion that they dont need anyone else, they are perfectly happy and they do not want to change, but you see that they have really been miserable the whole time, practically dying for the person that they can love, and will love them. Sounds all too familiar to ME. The whole album is like dipping into peoples thoughts as you walk down a busy street after dark. Explanations and justifications for their behaviour, anger, resentment, and sorrow. Downbeat, mellow, catchy, I was expecting a bit more originality, but I find most of the electronic genre a bit repetitive sometimes, everything starts sounding like something I heard before, and it really takes something SPECTACULAR for me to rate a full 5 stars, but this is a very well earned 4. If you like Electro-pop, future-pop, EBM, Industrial and the like, check these guys out.

i love this album. the vocals are not as bad as i thought they were going to be based on what others have said here. i like the vocals. the music is great. i happy i bought the album.

This cd follows no trends and really digs into hypnotising the listener. The robotic vocals are used along with normal human voice so you dont get tired of either or. (think Apoptygmas Kathy's Song)
Though the effects and programming arnt groundbreaking, theres so much movement through out each track to keep it from being your average reapetitive electronica. Sections that are reapetetive are done for good reason, they totally draw you into a hypnotised state before exploding and reaching that sonic plateau. Dont listen while driving, you might actually forget you on earth!