Customer Reviews

Splendid Isolation

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Not enough people heard Yonderboi's "Shallow and Profound." That's a shame, because the Hungarian wunderkind's enchanting debut was one of the most unique, entrancing downtempo albums seen in years.

Now we see the arrival of "Splendid Isolation," which takes that eclectic sound and expands it further. Blending Eastern-European folk with downtempo, rock and some trippy beats, Yonderboi creates one of the most striking dance albums of 2005.

The album opens with crows cawing, following by a melancholy snippet of violin music and ominous piano, sounding like it's emanating from an aged radio. Then suddenly the melody expands to orchestral levels, and a chorus of angelic voices sing out, "All we go... to hell!" over swelling strings.

From there on, Yonderboi's album follows its natural course -- delicate piano melodies mixed with soft beats and synth, organ-laced pop, guitar pop, and one outright rock song, "Were You Thinking Of Me?", which is ruled by energetic riffs and a solid, driving melody. This brief rock interlude feels a bit out of place, however.

Fortunately, Yonderboi then returns to what he does best, with the whirling, heart-racing electronica of "Trains in the Night," followed by stretches of yearning whirlwind dance, before coming full circle creatively with a pair of gentler, softer songs, and the parting message: "Even if you're victorious/you've got to break the chain of evil/with love..."

You have to give Yonderboi credit: After hitting the mark to perfection in his last album, he doesn't rest on his laurels. Artistically, that is.

"Splendid Isolation" has much the same vibe of "Shallow and Profound," but the jazz'n'lounge has been toned down, in favour of a more rock-oriented sound. There are electric guitars laid over the trippy beats, almost guaranteed to speed up your pulse. The only flaw with it is that a few bits defy the synth that frames them. But in the best spots -- "Motor" and "Love Hides," for instance -- the synth adds a ghostly air to the driving melodies.

But the more familiar musical parts -- electronica and traditional instruments -- are better than ever. Yonderboi seems to have gained confidence and strength, and the expansive, polished sound of his music reflects that, along with orchestral strings that swell out into panoramic sound, and electronic flourishes that can be either quick beeps or watery sweeps.

While the flavour of "Splendid Isolation" is a bit different from Yonderboi's last album, those expecting an entrancing, elaborate experience will not be disappointed. Absolutely lovely.

Not enough people heard Yonderboi's "Shallow and Profound." That's a shame, because the Hungarian wunderkind's enchanting debut was one of the most unique, entrancing downtempo albums seen in years.

Now we see the arrival of "Splendid Isolation," which takes that eclectic sound and expands it further. Blending Eastern-European folk with downtempo, rock and some trippy beats, Yonderboi creates one of the most striking dance albums of 2005.

The album opens with crows cawing, following by a melancholy snippet of violin music and ominous piano, sounding like it's emanating from an aged radio. Then suddenly the melody expands to orchestral levels, and a chorus of angelic voices sing out, "All we go... to hell!" over swelling strings.

From there on, Yonderboi's album follows its natural course -- delicate piano melodies mixed with soft beats and synth, organ-laced pop, guitar pop, and one outright rock song, "Were You Thinking Of Me?", which is ruled by energetic riffs and a solid, driving melody. This brief rock interlude feels a bit out of place, however.

Fortunately, Yonderboi then returns to what he does best, with the whirling, heart-racing electronica of "Trains in the Night," followed by stretches of yearning whirlwind dance, before coming full circle creatively with a pair of gentler, softer songs, and the parting message: "Even if you're victorious/you've got to break the chain of evil/with love..."

You have to give Yonderboi credit: After hitting the mark to perfection in his last album, he doesn't rest on his laurels. Artistically, that is.

"Splendid Isolation" has much the same vibe of "Shallow and Profound," but the jazz'n'lounge has been toned down, in favour of a more rock-oriented sound. There are electric guitars laid over the trippy beats, almost guaranteed to speed up your pulse. The only flaw with it is that a few bits defy the synth that frames them. But in the best spots -- "Motor" and "Love Hides," for instance -- the synth adds a ghostly air to the driving melodies.

But the more familiar musical parts -- electronica and traditional instruments -- are better than ever. Yonderboi seems to have gained confidence and strength, and the expansive, polished sound of his music reflects that, along with orchestral strings that swell out into panoramic sound, and electronic flourishes that can be either quick beeps or watery sweeps.

While the flavour of "Splendid Isolation" is a bit different from Yonderboi's last album, those expecting an entrancing, elaborate experience will not be disappointed. Absolutely lovely.

After a long wait of 5 years, the young Hungarian cult hero Yonderboi is finally back with a surprising album. Even though "Splendid Isolation" does not have the so called "lounge" vibe as his previous released longplayer "Shallow and Profound" did, this album does retain the typical down tempo melancholic, fresh, direct to the brain, makes you wonder, tunes we know from Yonderboi. This album is more layered, more mature, and more personal then his previous work. One of the few interesting original artists of the moment!!

P.S.: Incredibly beautiful album artwork from the unknown Vince Varga and Yonderboi himself.

After listening to Yonderboi's real second album, called Rough and Rare (with songs like Tameless, Mint a mókus, Portrait of Pierre Henry - but for some reason it was hard to find to buy this album), which is a continuation of Shallow and Profound, I could hardly wait for his new album to drop. All three albums are my all-time-all-mood favorites.
My boi is growing up... Splendid Isolation is different from both of his first albums; it is more mature, and it has an amazingly perfect flow between the themes of the songs. I think it looks more into understanding the world, our place in it and the Why, just like the old Hungarian "bácsi" (farmer, countryman) does question God in Before You Snap. At the end, in Even If You Are Victorious the truth is revealed, listen to it and live by it.
Nevertheless, the title of the album perhaps has something in common with the current EU/USA/TheRestOfTheWorld situation that describes a late 1800's British policy by Disraeli called Splendid Isolation (the balance).
Oh, by the way, the video to Were You Thinking of Me is awesome. Köszönöm hogy vagy Yonderboi.

There were a few good songs (3 to be exact) on Yonderboi's last album, one was the lovely Fairy of the Lake. But overall I'd say the last album was a disappointment. This album, however, is AMAZING! Every single song is better than the last. This is like trip-hop at it's absolute best.

"All We Go to Hell" is a great opener, with a classic yonderboi sound behind funky beats and dancable little girl vocals.
"Eyes for You" takes you to another planet with the trippiest of beats and old classic lyrics "I Only have eyes for you"
"People Always Talk about the Weather" "Soulbitch" "Before You Snap" .. the truth is, every song is genius. I wish I could describe them all, but I really don't think words can do them justice. I promise that if you like trip-hop you will cream after listening to this album. It's that good.

now believe me, i know, as i lve in Hungary, hungarian pop music sucks, i feel ashamed when i see hungarian bands or "artists" on the hungarian music channel, which also sucks (german mess Tokio Hotel is no1 on our top40, yes, uggh!). i wont continue it, it makes me wanna cry.

but when it comes to this guy, Fogarasi Laci, he has an eternal place in my heart. he is so talented that it's almost too much. i actually didn't consider his debut easy listening SHALLOW & PROFOUND a work of art but SPLENDID ISOLATION is no doubt the best music material ever made in Hungary, and it easily outdoes most of the non-hungarian stuff as well.

i must say that SP.I. is the hungarian version of reCoil's UNSOUND METHODS, which is the best album of the music industry.

from the very beginning, til the very end (crows fly above us both time) this album is sensational. it sets of with 3 quasi-instrumental tracks. ALL WE GO TO HELL is lovely and terrifying at the same time including a children choir singing "all we go to hell ladies @ gentlemen, do it now or never" .shivering. AMOR is on the other hand warm and soulful and so is EYES FOR YOU which samples the ancient standard "i only have eyes for you my dear". than comes the vocal part: BADLY BROKEN BUTTERFLIES is sad and melancolic dire straits cover FOLLOW ME HOME is on the contrary very uplifting and joyous. lead single WERE YOU THINKING OF ME is a rock oriented ballad with a creepy mysterious frahmented sound. the video made for this song is the best one ever made in Hungary, funnily enough it didn't recieve an award, it has lost against a very bad and ugly video. next 2 songs PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER and LOVE HIDES (based on a jim morrison poem) are wonderful pop rock melodies with the perfect proportion of guitar and electronic sound. finally the third part is heavily inspired by films and soundtracks (for that matter Yonderboi's favourite director is david lynch so when it comes to these cases he knows what's the best) MOTOR is a guitar-driven anthem full of energy keeps processing forward and forward, TRAINS IN THE NIGHT is more industrial with cold sequencer sounds and sampling film dialugues ("there's more harmony in films than in life") SOULBITCH is a horror: it has a dirty funky beat combined with yonderboi's modulated voice screaming "i'm a soulbitch baby i am selling you my soul!" and you can't stop being frightened as here comes the highlight of the album BEFORE YOU SNAP a very dark song again with film samples ("lying on your bed waiting for something to happen and knowing all the time that you are meant for something better") still you're shivering. then comes an Angelo Badalamenti-like interlude, crows again, then a hungarian man comes whispering, he wants to meet god and wants to ask him a few questions, he wants to know the truth (it's all said in hungarian, gosh!) the last song is finally a relief with distant guitar sounds and a profound monologue ("you got to break the chain of evil with love")

yonderboi is not really appreciated in Hungary which points out the taste of hungarian people (c'mon guys, keep listening to Tokio Hotel...) but i am really happy about the international success of him, keep it up.

excellent

Not enough people heard Yonderboi's "Shallow and Profound." That's a shame, because the Hungarian wunderkind's enchanting debut was one of the most unique, entrancing downtempo albums seen in years.

Now we see the arrival of "Splendid Isolation," which takes that eclectic sound and expands it further. Blending Eastern-European folk with downtempo, rock and some trippy beats, Yonderboi creates one of the most striking dance albums of 2005.

The album opens with crows cawing, following by a melancholy snippet of violin music and ominous piano, sounding like it's emanating from an aged radio. Then suddenly the melody expands to orchestral levels, and a chorus of angelic voices sing out, "All we go... to hell!" over swelling strings.

From there on, Yonderboi's album follows its natural course -- delicate piano melodies mixed with soft beats and synth, organ-laced pop, guitar pop, and one outright rock song, "Were You Thinking Of Me?", which is ruled by energetic riffs and a solid, driving melody. This brief rock interlude feels a bit out of place, however.

Fortunately, Yonderboi then returns to what he does best, with the whirling, heart-racing electronica of "Trains in the Night," followed by stretches of yearning whirlwind dance, before coming full circle creatively with a pair of gentler, softer songs, and the parting message: "Even if you're victorious/you've got to break the chain of evil/with love..."

You have to give Yonderboi credit: After hitting the mark to perfection in his last album, he doesn't rest on his laurels. Artistically, that is.

"Splendid Isolation" has much the same vibe of "Shallow and Profound," but the jazz'n'lounge has been toned down, in favour of a more rock-oriented sound. There are electric guitars laid over the trippy beats, almost guaranteed to speed up your pulse. The only flaw with it is that a few bits defy the synth that frames them. But in the best spots -- "Motor" and "Love Hides," for instance -- the synth adds a ghostly air to the driving melodies.

But the more familiar musical parts -- electronica and traditional instruments -- are better than ever. Yonderboi seems to have gained confidence and strength, and the expansive, polished sound of his music reflects that, along with orchestral strings that swell out into panoramic sound, and electronic flourishes that can be either quick beeps or watery sweeps.

While the flavour of "Splendid Isolation" is a bit different from Yonderboi's last album, those expecting an entrancing, elaborate experience will not be disappointed. Absolutely lovely.

Yonderboi's first album, Shallow & Profound, was a great piece of downtempo, so I came to his second, Splendid Isolation with high hopes. What can I say? The expectations game probably handicapped him too much. Certainly, "All We Go To Hell" has a freakish charm with its boys choir and odd phrasing, and "Amor" has a swooning romantic tinge to its shifting time signature. There's a bit more of a pop sensibility to this album, with more vocals (such as on "Badly Broken Butterflies" and "People Always Talk About the Weather") and fewer extended jazz meditations (though "Trains in the Night" comes close) -- a mixed blessing, at best. Yonderboi once again tries his hands at covers: "Follow Me Home" and "Love Hides," but neither has the oomph of his versions of "Cantaloupe Island" or "Riders on the Storm" on the earlier album. There's an appealing darkness to "Before You Snap" -- but a thudding drum and Jack Nicholson samples will do that. "Even If You Are Victorious" shuts down the album on a head-nodding note. Excellent, despite overreaching expectations.

The album here has been a favorite for a couple of years now since I picked it up and goes through a captivating whorl of styles while keeping an introspective and slightly darker tainted feel. Another reviewer mentioned Recoil. Great comparison; at least as far as the palpable theme reveals itself. In the end there are a million reviews for just about every album for sale here on Amazon and a few more glowing words about this one will probably have little effect. Let me just give you a direction as to what you'll find on the album with a few keywords: intelligent, beat-driven, electronic, use of voice/instrument samples, melancholic.

I have yet to get a hold of other stuff by this Yonderboi except the splendid single "Papadam." At times he reminds me of Yello and Art of Noise. There's not a single disappointing song on this album. Dare I say, that I'm thrilled with it. I want more of this sonic soaring. Such splendid isolation should be shared.