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CMU Approved
Approved: Man Without Country
By Marc Samuels | Published on Wednesday 26 November 2014
As the ice cold shards of synthesiser at start of new Man Without Country track ‘Laws Of Motion’ preface an electro feast of moody cold wave and euphoric Italo-disco, you could be mistaken for assuming this is the latest, inevitably remarkable, Scandinavian synth-pop group.
But you’d be wrong. Perhaps the incredible confidence and anthemic stadium rock ambitions were a clue, but Man Without Country are actually from Cardiff (and joined, on this track, by White Sea, aka American singer Morgan Kibby).
This monumentally huge song sounds, variously, like The Knife on ecstasy, Hurts on downers, ‘Disco’-era Pet Shop Boys or even the best song Trevor Horn never produced for Dollar. It also perfects that unlikely hybrid between synth-pop and shoegaze that the likes of Maps and M83 have explored to some success.
At five minutes long it couldn’t be more epic if it tried, but there’s no empty bluster here and, in fact, ‘Laws Of Motion’ is imbued with a tender intimacy at its (aching) heart. The lead single from the duo’s forthcoming second album ‘Maximum Entropy’ (released on 19 Jan 2015 on Lost Balloon), you can listen to ‘Laws Of Motion’ here.
