I saw some other, better music writer describe electronic music as the same materials, differentiated by how the artist puts them together. OnMaximum Entropy, Welsh band Man Without Country have assembled a square coffee table. Fortunately, MWC’s work isn’t the cane furniture with old prawns taped to it that the likes of David Guetta love to turn out, but nor does it resemble the parquetry offered by Jon Hopkins and his ilk.
This record lingers, but not necessarily in a good way; it’s just there. It doesn’t sound too far from something that’d come on when a SoundCloud playlist has been bunged on. The overwhelming impression is that the band is between ideas, or following the countercultural zeitgeist half-heartedly. These fellas say they’re ‘ambient’; maybe I’m a purist, but at all times it’s too involved to be ambient. Having more recognisable beats jump out would be a tremendous help to this album, but as it is, only the second (‘Entropy’) and third (‘Laws Of Motion’) tracks are notable, no doubt helped by the guest vocals.
The album isn’t bad, it’s just undecided on being fun or taking its self-declared category seriously, and that makes it unenjoyable.
2/5.
Maximum Entropyis out now through Lost Balloon/[PIAS].
