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 "I'm 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 isn't 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