Isolée – Well Spent Youth

one time I was on acid and listened to "Thirteen Times an Hour" at -8 on the pitch control dozens of times in a row, what an amazing tune

10 years late to this one, but it is sounding excellent to these pandemic-era ears in March 2021. <3

Isolée has always trod his own path, and WELL SPENT YOUTH only continues that unique wandering. With the off-kilter funk of "Paloma Triste," you might wonder: where's the minimalism from his other albums. Fear not. "Thirteen Times An Hour" has that well in-hand. The tones here are warmer than his earlier works, even in the more abstract "Taktell." But he keeps things slightly off-balance too, like with the occasional bits of discord in "Journey's End" or the odd, floppy groove of "Going Nowhere." But it's with his house tracks that Isolée shines the most, whether the icy "One Box" or the subdued "Hold On" or the inclusion of vocals on "Transmission." (To my ears, though, the smooth and string-laden "Celeste" stands out as the strongest track.) And, true to form, "In Our Country" takes the album out on a mellow, though solid, note.

Wonderful release for me the best LP of the year so far, there's no filler at all highlights are Hold On, In Our Country, Paloma Triste. It's very deep and just gets better with every listen.

Pretty heavy duty early night and after-hours material. Isolee winks at the dancefloor with Well Spent Youth and the times were of creating spaces out of nowhere; and the music contained and used inside it is almost incidental and secondary to the experience of discovering eddies and currents which inhabit the flow of each groove. Heady stuff for those inclined and nicely sideways slanted house, and crafty abnormal techno. There's definitely a fine line with Well Spent Youth where a dj can make this material sing for a dancefloor, or just as easily turn it over into a more listening and social music.