Lost Alone

Mind in a Box is the brainchild of video game soundtrack composer Stefan Poiss, who takes lyrics by Markus Hadwiger and sets them to music that comes from a decidedly industrial tradition without sounding in the least bit aggressive or confrontational. While a heavily processed voice delivers lines like I feel sad, so left alone/Words are not enough for me to live on (on Light & Dark) and Im sad, so terribly sad (on Walking), steady foursquare beats and chilly synthesizer chords chug and ripple underneath in a gentle and sometimes unselfconsciously tuneful way -- note in particular the lovely hook on the chorus of Change. For an album of more-or-less industrial music to deal with issues of loneliness and alienation isnt exactly unusual, but for it to do so in such a quiet, almost contemplative way certainly is. Lost Alone may not deliver a large crossover audience for Mind in a Box -- those with a less-than-compulsive interest in industrial music will wish there were a bit more development in the sound, and maybe a few more hooks like the one featured in Change, but this album represents a refreshing break from the usual industrial routine, and is an impressive debut effort on Poiss part. ~ Rick Anderson