Man Without Country – Maximum Entropy – (Lost Balloon)
DMC World Magazine
Bands with ambition are always to be applauded in music, surely – so on that basis it’s time to give a big hand to Man Without Country, whose second album is a big, bold and rather wonderful thing. Some of the soundscapes on it reflect the influence of key shoegaze acts – so it makes sense that lead single ‘Laws Of Motion’ should include the beautiful vocals of Morgan Kibby, sometime vocalist for M83. Yet this is only part of the story, for ‘Entropy’ has big pretensions with its massive, rolling drums, while the big sonic canvas of 4 is also really impressive. The heart of the album is ‘Deadsea’, a majestic and forceful piece of writing that hits deep emotionally, and is backed up by the floated textures and moody outlines of ‘Romanek’. As a bonus at the end we get a cover of The Beloved’s ‘Sweet Harmony’, which is faithfully done – but ultimately a bit redundant when you consider the song writing achievements elsewhere. No matter – for by then you’ll have fallen under the Man Without Country spell.
