Search - Isan :: Plans Drawn in Pencil (Dig)

Like melting icicles

Richard Patterson | Montclair, NJ | 07/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, ISAN have a distinctive palette of sonic tools and melodic theory from which they rarely diverge. But how many great albums do most groups produce? This duo has consistently delivered. Imagine relaxing on the Danube on a clear day with little puffy clouds wafting along when suddenly your favorite music box from your childhood lazily floats by atop a clean, clear iceberg. What is this iceberg doing in here in the middle of summer? Pastels and primaries reflect through this ice cube and woo you into a dream state where you hear every leaf fall, and every dripping faucet, and they are all aligned in an accidental symphony. Not to say that Isan are scoring on accident. It takes four gifted ears to make something both pleasant and challenging, simultaneously deep and simple. This is like dragging a giant record needle slowly around a Zen rock garden. I hope Eno is listening. If you like ISAN then I suggest some Audio Dregs Recordings artists as well."

Delicate instrumentals made with a graceful touch and an inv

Aquarius Records | San Francisco | 08/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the landscape of "dreamy" electronica has been quite flooded in the last several years there will always be those that rise above the flock in any crowded genre, and Isan are one of the few who do indeed float high above most of their peers. What makes Isan so special is the songs, using their laptops and keyboards to create airy melodies and lovely lucid washes of sound. While so many of their contemporaries have added forced vocals on top of their sounds, often big name guests, in order to break into the "next level" we're happy that Isan have kept it purely instrumental, as the songs they write feel totally complete as-is and allow us, as listeners, to bring more of our imagination to the songs. There are definite similarities to like minded and former label mates Mum, especially their first primarily instrumental debut, as well fleeting glimpses of Boards of Canada at their most blissed out, and perhaps like a less skeletal version of Colleen. We also keep thinking a lot about how Isan in many ways represent this generation's version of Durruti Column. Delicate instrumentals made with a graceful touch and an invitation to float freely."