Title: Man Machine
Artist: Lost Area
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 26th September 2008
Label: TheXoomo.Net
Album Review
After the quite successful debut ‘Dare to Dream’ from 2006, a lot of circulations took place, some members left the line-up and the task was to find adequate replacements which eventually turned out well and now about two years later we can see a project with regained strength and a new album called ‘Man Machine’.
The album begins right away with the title track with a protagonist hoping to find a way out of today’s brutal and cold reality, but is it really the right way? Hear for yourself while droning soundscapes and mid-tempo beats underline melodic passages with alternating male and female vocals, which brings us to the second track ‘Amnesia’ that has more of a club attitude but still maintains the melodic theme while exploring more rocking territory on the other side while the protagonist suffering from Amnesia, roams through deserted streets and feels nothing but emptiness and fright.. ‘Changes’ is another more beat-driven tune, combining different emotional states with different effects on the vocals that are presented both in German and English. The song tells you that if you’re not satisfied with what you have become, be it a ‘Man-Machine’ or not you have to make a change. It’s never too late. Haunting soundscapes and male choirs float through the next danceable track ‘Figure’ peaking in a highly melodic and hymnal chorus. “I’m just a figure in this world…” Now let’s enter a ‘Society’ in which hypocrisy has a high priority. Our own, where people and children die in wars fought under false pretences. This time Asli performs the track alone with her powerful voice to the sound of pushing beats and lots of strings. Same goes for the coming track ‘Unborn’ - only that it’s a little more spherical all in all and the beats are crunchier. Markus and Andi fight a vocal duel here with their contrasting timbres adding more vocal diversity to the track.
‘I Am here’, starring Asli as main vocalist again, is actually the first balladry track on ‘Man Machine’, coming up with dramatic strings and if I’m not mistaken it’s live drumming I heard there. In that song you can sense the desperation and fear in her voice but also the will to fight a way out of the dark. ‘Flashback’ returns to the dance theme most of the album is dedicated to (again).We definitely need more diversity here. The wide atmospherics very much keeping back behind the rhythms and more emphasis is placed on the vocals telling of disturbing events, haunting our man machine in its sleep, disappearing as soon as he opens his eyes, but there’s no feeling anymore. Has really all human been erased? We asked for more diversity and we get it with the much more layered and rich arrangement of ‘Stimmen’ that also convinces with thick ambience layers. Great work! ‘Taste my Tears’ reveals there’s still something human left in the machine. The very essence, the soul, is still alive but buried; and there’s love, love which is able to turn everything around. The song itself is one of the most atmospheric on the album, being drenched with warm synth washes and piano lines sounding like bells somewhere in the distance. Now it’s time for the ‘Soulfoe’, maybe the counterpart to the soul mate, bound to hate each other beyond the borders of time and space. Straight beats and small melody fragments lead into the song where stronger melodies appear. ‘Travelling in the Darks’ ups the tempo and the level of harshness. The male vocals are distorted, sounding embittered and depressed as if they’ve given up all hope to ever see the light again. ‘Goodbye’ couldn’t be a more fitting name for an album closer. The track is carried by an overall melancholic feeling created with wide string layers, piano and slow rhythms and gives no hope for a happy end of the story.
Yes, it is right, LOST AREA have become more diverse on ‘Man-Machine’ and now comes the big “But”: there’s still room for improvements. The production is very good, no doubt about that, but many of the songs are still stuck in a 4/4 scheme and that’s a little tedious on a long run. But LOST AREA can score with great melodies as well as thoughtful lyrics. That seems to be strength of the project.
Tracklist
01. Man Machine – 4:49
02. Amnesia – 4:29
03. Changes – 5:19
04. Figure – 4:16
05. Society – 4:23
06. Unborn – 4:27
07. I am Here – 5:52
08. Flashback – 4:42
09. Stimmen – 3:39
10. Taste my Tears – 4:11
11. Soulfoe – 4:57
12. Travelling in the Dark – 5:08
13. Goodbye – 3:35
14. Changes Club Mix – 5:14
15. Soulfoe Club Mix – 5:23
Line-up
Jan Bertram - Programming, Mixdowns, Premastering, Management
Asli Gerhardt - Vocals, Lyrics
Markus Bär - Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Producer
Andi Grundler - Vocals
Website
http://www.lostarea.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/lostarea
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 7.5
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