In Isolation - A Certain Fractal Light

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 27 / 4 / 2016

Label: Aye Aye Records
Format: CD

intro

Impressive debut album from Nottingham's In Isolation which draws comparisons to Editors and an array of 80's influences

Once again we get the chance to listen to some of the wonderful music to come out of the East Midlands and Nottingham in particular. This is the debut outing for one of the city's up-and-coming acts, In Isolation, who style themselves on a mix of bands and artists such as Editors, the Cure, Bloc Party, Roxy Music and David Bowie. The trio of Ryan Swift (vocals, guitars), John Berry (guitars) and Tony Ghost (drums) are heavily influenced, as you would expect, by the more underground post-punk sounds of the 80s plus other choice New Wave artists of that era, but they also drift a little further into the Millennium adding influences from the angled indie sounds of the Noughties and post-Noughties. To be fair, there isn't a deal of music out there to get the idea of what these guys are all about so you are probably better off getting down to a local venue - their live sound is among the best to be heard anywhere in the Midlands if not the country - or picking yourselves up a copy of this. 'A Certain Fractal Light' is, however, as its title suggests, certainly Editors- orientated. They have, however, been honing their craft since 2009, although most of this material on here was written during the last year. Also the Editors' sound is there mostly because of the band's natural progression, but it is enhanced by the studio recording of Gavin Monaghan who has worked with Babes in Toyland, Paolo Nutini and yes, you guessed it, Editors. The first single to come from here was 'Truth or Dare', a track that some might say is the strongest on here but, but to be honest there isn't a bad track on here. Of course, the fact that I am an 80's child has helped with this, but I believe that this is of the now too and so do the majority that have heard In Isolation - they have already picked up over a thousand likes on Facebook. The first two tracks on this vey accomplished debut album, 'Parlance' and the title track, are all very Editors in the feel but they have their own sound mixed in with it too, as does 'The Letter' which has a wonderful lean towards Classix Nouveaux. 'Not Noticing' with its haunting female backing has an irresistible 80's sound and, not too dissimilar to the great Killing Joke, is already gracing this writer's playlist in the car. This is honestly that good it's had plays on BBC 6 Music and has been topping the Reverbnation Indie Chart. All in all another winner from the East Midlands from a band that should, on this form, get noticed much much farther afield. Marvellous!

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