Album Review: Man Without Country – Maximum Entropy
Maximum Entropy
Released 19th January 2015
Words: Gary Feeney
In the short bio on Man Without Country’s Soundcloud page, the reader is promised “glacial guitar ripples and eery synth pulses with the ability to morph in to an anthem when you least expect it” and after the first couple of tracks, it seems that that promise is going to be delivered upon by the Welsh duo of Tomas Greenhalf and Ryan James via their new album Maximum Entropy.
Opener Claymation is a brooding, shimmering slice of synth-driven pop featuring a driving beat which nicely compliments the smooth vocals and is followed up by the Depeche Mode-esque Entropy which manages to be enjoyable despite the distorted vocal being far too reminiscent of Babylon Zoo’s Spaceman; the effect on the vocal is probably supposed to be experimental, but as turns out to be the case with large parts of the album, it just feels unnecessary.
There are no such qualms regarding Laws Of Motion though, with guest singer White Sea, the erstwhile M83 collaborator, providing a an entrancing vocal over the lead single and stand-out track. Laws Of Motion perfectly encapsulates the band’s aforementioned bio, pulling together haunting synths, a pulsing bassline and an evocative vocal to create an outstanding pop single.
Sadly, this turns out to be something of a high-water mark for the album which proceeds to become repetitive and at times a little bit pointless, a feeling epitomised by Loveless Marriage which leaves you as cold and empty as you’d expect from the subject matter, and by Deadsea which clocks in at 7 minutes without ever really coming to life in any way.
There are positives from the latter section of the album though, such as Catfish, another driving electro-pop number that almost has a House music feel to it and Romanek which is perhaps the most complete song on the album; beginning with a more laid-back, ambient feel, it gradually builds around another driving beat into one of the album’s strongest tracks.
Whilst it’d be harsh to say most of the remaining tracks are particularly bad songs however, it’s hard to escape the feeling that it more than overstays its welcome, containing as it does 12 tracks with a running time of around 1 hour; this is most evident with Incubation, a song which features no discernible melody or purpose.
Over the piece, the excessive length of the album is its downfall, leaving you feel as if you’ve spent large parts of it waiting on something that never quite happens, which is a shame as it is contains some excellent moments like Laws Of Motion. For hardcore fans of shoe-gaze and synth music, Maximum Entropy may provide an hour of enjoyment, but otherwise you’ll most likely find that you find yourself reaching for the fast-forward button too many times for the album to be considered an overall success.
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