We Are Monster [Import]

Isolee | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Playhouse
• ASIN: B0009FU0WO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,102 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pictureloved

2. Schrapnell

3. Enrico

4. Mädchen mit Hase

5. My Hi-Matic

6. Do Re Mi

7. Face B

8. Jelly Baby/Fish

9. Today

10. Pillowtalk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where did this come from?, December 15, 2006

By 

Billy Pilgrim (Detroit-ish) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Are Monster (Audio CD)

I have to admit, my interest in all things techno has waned a bit in the last few years. I rarely go to clubs anymore, and I pretty much never buy records...it just seemed like it was all the same ideas, the same sounds, the same basslines, repeated ad infinitum. So I was more than pleasantly surprised when I heard We Are Monster.

The ten tracks on this release are more like actual songs, each one individual and unique, yet adding up to a coherent and consistent whole. And even though Isolee gained a reputation for producing what is termed "microhouse"- tracks that move along at midtempo, change subtlely and are all small gestures- that is only a starting point here. He throws in elements of dub, grime, electro, techno, even an acoustic guitar, yet it never feels like a stretch, it all comes together effortlessly. No easy task, yet one Isolee pulls off incredibly well.

Constantly surprising and always enjoyable, We Are Monster reminds me why I got into this music in the first place, and why, all these years later, I keep coming back.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Surprise, and Surprisingly Good, February 1, 2008

By 

FlangeMechanism - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Are Monster (Audio CD)

As with the previous reviewer, this album came as a pleasant surprise for me. Like most people who have heard of Isolee, my only previous exposure to him was "Beau Mot Plage," that catchy wordless-vocal track that showed up on pretty much every deep house compilation in the early '00s. And rightly so, as it's a really good track.

We Are Monster is not deep house. It's not trip-hop, downtempo, or acid jazz. I would call it a cross between acid, drum 'n' bass, and IDM, with an indie spin. And in case you think (as I do) that "IDM" and "indie" are code words for "crap," know that this album is a very great exception.

Comparisons to Aphex Twin are probably inevitable; but I have very nearly all of Aphex's CD output, and off the top of my head I can't think of anything of his that I enjoy as much as I do this.

There are elements of house, blues, rock, jungle, hip-hop, electro, and disco, but no track ever quite fulfills any of those genres; the only consistent elements are how dark, stripped-down, and incredibly catchy it all is. You can sit and focus on this music, you can use it as a background while you're reading, you can use it to get yourself pumped up at the gym. It's nothing if not versatile.

Highly recommended, particularly for Aphex, Amon Tobin, and Luke Vibert fans.