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Was “shoegaze” ever a scene? There were definitely various genres in this so-called scene, three was the jangle crash of Ride, the sweeping beauty and bliss of Slowdive, the Lushness of Lush, the blistering hypnotics of My Bloody Valentine, so on and so forth. And the revival, if there truly is one, is certainly being celebrated (and rightly so) on many of the Clairecords releases. Isobella is definitely dreamy pop with female vocals, just the right amount of synthesizer and delay pedal guitar work, perfectly balanced to create some of the dreamiest tunes since that early 90’s movement. Normally I would mention highlights of the album, but they are all highlights! Pretty vocals, tasteful programming, good use of guitar effects, very tastefully produced studio sound. If you want to chill with your pot of tea and a good read before your mid-day daydream, here is the perfect prescription. Highly recommended.
reviewed by: James Nelms for Sonicspace |
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Isobella's Laura Poinsette sings like a lost angel careening heavenward on a
spastic jet stream of candy-coated, supersonic reverberations! With each
passing guitar tingle (tinkle) comes refracted spangles of cymbal crashes
drenched in crest-driven sunlight ("bathed in golden glow"), vast glimmers
of rainbow-laced honey drips, and pounding drums (cliche). American Brit-pop
(shoegaze).
reviewed by: Josh Gabriel for The Big Takeover |
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Isobella made some ripples in the proverbial pond with their debut effort Akasha off Clairecords. It featured the fuzzed out guitars and male/female vocal interplay that was reflexively compared to the sound carved out by bands such as Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. And in fact, the press release for their sophomore effort, A 24 Syllable Haiku, notes just that.
The first apparent difference on their latest release is the new-found emphasis on Laura Poinsette's vocals. Instead of weaving it betwixt the drone and swirl of their guitars, her voice is made the centerpiece of most of the tracks. While her voice has a quality similar to Medicine's Beth Thompson, it misses the complement of the male backing vocals (which are almost completely absent) and guitar overlays.
And although the production is more refined and structured, there is a sense of homogeny among the songs. For instance, the beautiful guitar and vocal work in "Sun in Her Eyes" off their first album could reasonably stay ingrained a listener's head for days. There is no such instant gratification here. However, with repeated listens, the album's finer points surface. The most mesmerizing moments come in the closing moments of "Illuminous Insect" and "Autopilot," where the synergism between Poinsette's swelling voice and the caterwaul of guitars climb somewhere into the stratosphere. reviewed by: Keith Teelucksingh |
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Let me get this right out of the way: the music on shoegazer band isobella's sophomore release is simply amazing. It's magnetic, even, as the listener is drawn to the speakers immediately upon hearing it. Warm tones, droning guitar, playful keyboards, and solid drumming, although mostly programmed, make for a pleasant backdrop for any vocals to prey upon. Unfortunately, in sharp opposition to their debut release "Akasha," they don't prey upon the music under them. They confound it, they drown it, and, in a lot of cases, you'll wish they simply weren't there. Maybe it's the treatment of them. Laura Poinsette has, as far as I can tell, a very capable voice, somewhat of a cross between Tanya Donnelly and Lisa Gerrard. And her voice sounds like it could float wonderfully above these songs, much as it did on their debut. Unfortunately, on "haiku" it's drenched in effects, with delay, slight distortion, and faded to a point where you couldn't decipher what she's singing on some tracks if you tried. It's a shame, because the music really is lovely, and I would have been happy with a CD of just isobella the musicians, with no vocals at all, as most of these tracks would be just fine on their own. As it stands, the vocals can't really even be counted as vocals on "a 24 syllable haiku" -- they are another instrument added to the mix, nothing more. And a highly intrusive one at that. Tracks like "Olive" and "Broken verbs" show incredible potential, as when the vocals are less treated they sound pretty lovely. My hope is that on the next release, Poinsette reveals her voice for us like before, warts and all, rather than hiding behind effects that mask it.
reviewed by: Rob Devlin for Brainwashed |
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With an impressive wall of guitars guiding its slow and shimmering songs, Isobella returns on its second album with another collection of dreamy albeit derivative pop. Let’s get the obligatory references out of the way. Yes, Isobella owns a copy of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and very probably everything Lush released before Split in 1994. Perhaps, some Pale Saints and Slowdive as well. “Shoegazer” is the common denominator, of course- the early 1990’s fad where bands filtered their guitars through countless effects and drowned in a pool of reverb and feedback all the while staring at the ground.
Isobella tries to distance itself from that term in its brief biography, but the fact that its mentioned at all reveals a marketing ploy that’s too clever by half. If you’ve never heard of “shoegazer” music then Isobella would gladly lump itself in that category, but if you’re a jaded music fan, then “shoegazer” is far too ambiguous of a term to describe this band. Ahh, but you can’t have it both ways. As unoriginal as Isobella is on the surface, the band does have a propensity for glacial melodies and otherworldly soundscapes. Every song plods along at the same pace, making it very difficult to distinguish one song from the next, but Laura Poinsette’s vocals careen beautifully amid the waves of textured guitars. This one trick pony will either lure you into its cloudy lair with sheets of affected distortion and floating vocals or cause you to eject the disc after three songs once you get the gist of it. Since Isobella has developed its sound from such a specific aspect of the whole “shoegazer” scene, there’s little room for people to be on the fence. Isobella doesn’t seek out any obvious hooks or even a danceable beat; the band seems too content to rely on the “prettiness” of its sound effects. Taken one song at a time A 24 Syllable Haiku has some remarkable moments both vocally and on guitar, but it’s somewhat of a boring chore to sit through in its entirety. reviewed by: Eric Greenwood for Drawer B |
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Isobella is yet another "shoegazer" style band dwelling in the same territory as the likes of Slowdive. The band features a sound that offers plenty of sedated feedback, serenity-within-noise and a plaintive, but delicate overall structure. A 24 Syllable Haiku is a consistently pleasant album that doesn't particularly stand out, but offers a reasonably enjoyable listen from beginning to end. The band's main focus is vocalist Laura Poinsette, whose somewhat tinny voices floats in and around the echoing and occasionally blurry guitars. Her voice is a give-or-take endeavor for the listener. It has a very unique timbre to it, but it may not suit all ears. The music, however, is quite enjoyable throughout. The band seldom stirs up much dust; rather, they focus on creating trance inducing passages that swirl delicately around the listener. Even the moments when feedback and distortion are employed are kept in check as though valium was slipped into the recording machine's input jacks.
A 24 Syllable Haiku is not necessarily the most demanding of listens in this subgenre of music, but for those who are deeply into the quiet guitar distortion of Slowdive or some of the other Clairecords bands, Isobella is worth checking out. reviewed by: John Chedsey for Satan Stole My Teddybear |
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Akasha, the debut album by Isobella, was a relatively dark affair. This year’s synth-tinged follow-up, A 24 Syllable Haiku, makes it quickly apparent that Isobella isn’t interested in departing radically from that sound. The shoegazing, early '90s-style melodies and rhythmic walls of sound from Akasha remain, but the arrangements and performances are measurably improved.
Ethereal, palatable female vocals, not unlike Versus’ Fontaine Toups on Valium, follow the chugging guitars and layered keyboards like shadows chasing a cloud. Not an especially energetic mixture, but the richly layered instrumentation shines through. If The Jesus & Mary Chain were literary-minded cyborgs, they'd buy Isobella CDs as stocking stuffers. reviewed by: John Wenzel for Sponic Zine |
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For all the times punk's been written off as dead or rock's been called an anachronism, shoegazer hasn't really been pronounced deceased yet, even though it's common knowledge that the momentum of the movement has long been gone, outside of a few spectacular bands like My Bloody Valentine and Lush. Like tribal-arm tattoos and flannel shirts, shoegazers are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Isobella bucks that trend, however, as A 24 Syllable Haiku finds the peals of distorted guitar and shyness-tempered demeanor. Isobella isn't pure vintage shoegazer, however, as the band trades in some of the British movement's pop affectations for outright power that's in the league of post-hardcore guitar worshipping acts such as Hum. The result is a sound that's loud and full-bodied while still being easy on the ears of anyone who's got a handle on any of the act's influences. It's comfortable, warm and, for the most part, well-executed. While the band's basic building blocks - namely noisy guitars and wall-of-sound production descended directly from the hand of Phil Spector - are ones that could easily be twisted into hard-edged rock'n'roll, A 24 Syllable Haiku doesn't bear any of the traces of overwrought rock'n'roll. Instead of crackling distortion and harsh dynamics, Isobella delivers warm guitars that enfold listeners like a brand-new sweatshirt, keyboard melodies that lope through easygoing figures and sweet-tooth gratifying lush female vocals. Throw in the band's electronic rhythm section, and this record's only got one foot planted on the typical shoegazer playing field. Despite that fact, A 24 Syllable Haiku is only moderately successful. While the band's ability to achieve a hearty and finely tuned sound is never in doubt on this album, listeners are going to question the trio's sense of variety. While each song works well individually, there's not much to distinguish the overgrown guitars in the album's standout track "Kidnap Someone and Make Them Happy" from any of the other songs, a fact that makes this record play more like one continually evolving tune than a collection of individual pieces. reviewed by: Matt Schild for Aversion.com |
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After locking themselves inside the Atomic Audio Studio for the entire month of January, Isobella came out with their sophomore effort, A 24 Syllable Haiku. Being labeled as dream-pop and uncannily sounding like Velour 100 and My Bloody Valentine, Isobella transcend pop and move into a glossy, more atmospheric sound.
Laura Poinette's rich alto vocals would certainly be viable if a battle anthem or cry was ever needed. A unique sound pours out of your speakers and it's not electronics, but a solid voice. As each song is swallowed by the next, your body moves right into the next key change and you feel the punch of the guitar strums. Isobella's efforts on their second release don't go unnoticed. With Laura's voice lending itself to the progressive music, this CD is best fit for a rainy day. reviewed by: Megan Holmes for Venus |
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Isobella's second album A 24 Syllable Haiku is like a fuller, more realized version of the ambient pop-rock contained in their equally enjoyable debut Akasha. Their second album feels more complete, deeper than the first, though musically it's quite similar--on both they're placing a marvelous, colorful cloak of sound over pop songs, sending listeners off into a dreamlike state while delivering fantastic pop melodies. The trio, from Tampa, Florida, takes pop songs and swirls them into big sonic atmospheres by adding layers of guitar, synthesizer, beats and other programming. On one level their music is all about textures, about the way instruments sound when placed over, next to and in between each other, about carefully crafting beauty in steps. But on another level everything is propelled along by rhythms and beats, giving the music a groove often missing from ambient soundscapes. And on an entirely different level, there's simple, pretty melodies underneath, sung by vocalist/keyboardist Laura Poinsette. It all ads up to music with a profound sense of what sounds can accomplish, the diverse feelings and impressions they can deliver. A 24 Syllable Haiku is an evocative, open work of mystery and beauty. It's music for real life, which is never easily explained and doesn't come in a clearly labeled box.
reviewed by: Dave Heaton for PopMatters |
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Laura Poinsette’s vox continue to be some of the most distinctive in the world of dreamy shoegazer music. 24SH is a consistently strong effort with lush production from this Florida based band. Isobella has created some fantastic songs in the past and though there might not be greatest hits here it is 51 minutes of tunes the Cocteau Twins would be proud of.
reviewed by: Shredding Paper |
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