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Mind.in.a.Box
Dreamweb

Metropolis Records

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006
By: Vince Sander

Certainly the Austrian duo of Markus Hadwiger and Stefan Poiss knew that expectations would be running high for their second album, Dreamweb, considering the critical acclaim heaped upon Lost Alone. That debut release was intelligent and introspective while never forgetting the accessible melodies and dance floor-ready beats. A successful follow-up would have to give us all of that and more without sounding too familiar. That kind of pressure can either lead to a creative collapse or it can spur an artist to even greater heights. Thankfully for M.i.a.B. they were able to deliver the latter in the form of an album that may be even more intellectually challenging, yet equally, if not more, user friendly.

Exploring the inner workings of the human mind, specifically the ways in which we create our own mental prisons, is the band’s raison d ‘etre. The phrase “the second reflection in a mirror of our reality” printed on the insert shows that on Dreamweb they plan to delve further into the mysteries of the mind; that much I expected. What I did not expect was that all the while they would also be writing a new parallel mystery. Certain songs have universal meanings dealing with psychology or the interpretation of dreams. Other tracks serve the singular purpose to progress the storyline. One stanza describes a clandestine rendezvous in an after-hours club, while another spells out strange interactions among a Byzantine network of operatives working on a top-secret project known only as “Dreamweb.” To give this sense of many personalities and characters, the band utilizes a vast array of vocal effects, including vocoders and major pitch shifting to the extent that at various times it may seem that a computer or a female is singing; shockingly, it’s always Markus. Throughout the artwork, obscure messages drift behind the lyrics, adding to the dreamy cloak-and-dagger intrigue. The music is just as captivating as the concept and is hard to pin down, oscillating between EBM/futurepop, trance, and ambient techno, while never coming close to settling into any of them. There is also a clear belief that less is often more if you use it properly. Heavy beats and dominating synths are used with great restraint so they have great impact when they are eventually employed. The best songs (“Certainty,” “Between Worlds,” “Sun and Storm,” “Lament For Lost Dreams,” and “The Dream”) display a perfect balance between burning hot emotional intensity and textured calculated coolness. The production is masterful in a way that allows every track to sound exactly as it must to convey the proper mood and meaning. When the lyrics speak of human mental frailty, the vocals sound weary and beaten down to match; when the words convey desperation, the rhythm is appropriately feverish.

With Dreamweb, M.i.a.B. have taken their artful combination of sophisticated electronics and high concept to a new level. Though DJs could easily work tracks like “Certainty,” “Sun and Storm,” “Out of Time,” and “Between Worlds” into their club sets, it seems more likely that this release will get more play at home when they actually want to listen to music rather than just dance to it. Without a doubt, it is the imaginative blend of smart sci-fi ethos and excellent electro that makes this an incredibly strong work; definitely a contender for Album of the Year.