Reviews

My initial reaction to this was not positive. In fact, I was surprised. I knew that Dave was heading in a more Power Electronics direction, but going by a rare live performance assumed it to be a lot heavier and noisier. This album, however, has a more clinical element to it, but that's not the issue. The issue is how derivative it sounds. Australians for years have laboured with a tendency to imitate overseas efforts and I was quite disappointed to hear that one of my favourite local projects, one I've been following for years, was succumbing. The influences on this are far too obvious - if you like any kind of European PE, you'll know what this sounds like without hearing it.
After a few listens, my feelings started to turn. As with anything Dave does, there is a lot of care taken to put things together, the production is exemplary, and there is a completeness to the material that allows me to relax a bit more with it. So it's clear that for the time being Isomer is going to be in this mode - crisp yet warm, harsher elements becoming more prevalent, throbbing synth lines, sparser arrangements, more vocals, samples. Certainly a change from the deep, lush, movie soundtrack-esque sound of previous Isomer elements. It's not that such elements weren't present before, particularly the use of samples and the more precise length of tracks, but on this album their synthesis becomes more pastiche. And having adjusted somewhat more, I think this album could be recommended to PE fans without much qualification. It's certainly more than mere "workman-like" - the production is to be admired - although there's a lack of emotional impact I find disturbing, but that is in keeping with the clinicism of the influences. It's after the fourth track, "Regaining Our Faith", that I find the album beings to work better for me, the soft crunch of that piece (I imagine the contribution from Mark Groves) appealing to me. Followed by the very Genocide Organ sounding "When We Burn", a simple modulated synth tone graced with some electronic filth, with vocals hinting at IRM coming across quite well. The final track, "Infant Promise" is also in collaboration with Groves and his distinct sparse, electronic nihilism is well to the fore on this piece, finishing the album on a more original note and probably my favourite on the album.
In the end, it's better to have an album that is at least good at what it does than fails to connect on any level. This is a straight forward, well-made, average Power Electronics release, in an edition of two hundred, mainly released for Isomer's support gig with Genocide Organ's performances in Germany this year.
Taken from Andrew McIntosh

Isomer + Genocide Organ = cool! On 14 May 2011 both projects gave a show in Mannheim. I have not been there, but thought to get me one of the 200 copies of this special release. While I know Isomer for ambient noisescapes, on “Nil By Mouth”, Isomer created a serious piece of dark noise. Pulsating industrial rhythms, low frequencies, aggressive vocals, this is noise in the old style, a style I like! If you like projects such as Anenzephalia or Ex.Order, you might want to get yourself a copy of this wonderfull album. The downside, this cd lasts only for about half an hour...
Taken from Gangleri

There are few players on the field of industrial music which albums I always looking forward to hear. One of them is Isomer, Australian based resident, and today it is his turn to enter my CD-player and torture me with the sound of his madness.
Being active for about 12 years already, David already fed the scene with some solid material in the past. Few years ago he showed the full specter of his talent in 'Face towards the Sun' that was out on Tesco Organization. Mixing different styles together with extreme electronics, this ability was a key for success and acknowledgment. But with the new short EP, Isomer presents the material that can suit the fans of old style power electronics.
The EP was out around a year ago in very limited quantity of 200 pieces only and was pressed for the show in Mannheim (Germany) in May 2011. This release passed through the scene surprisingly quiet. Even I, who am a big fan of heavy electronics, laid my hands on it only few weeks ago. And a bigger surprise for me was how dammed I could I miss it for so long time.
What was presented on the previous record had gone for good. No more atmospheric melodies, no more sampled symphonic effects, no more compromise. A total wall of heaviness and brutalism fills the air, makes I thicker, full of smoke from burned tires and smell of protest. Each track throws a statement; each track declares the superiority of power electronics. Heavy machinery pulsating sound, dirty and without decorating it into something like angst pop or rhythmic noise which are so popular now. The drum session on "Slave Ritual" reminds me of some industrial plant working on stamping sheetmetal materials. Distorted vocals present almost in every track firing it up with the bullet-like words and slogans. Balancing on the edge of power noise, David never crosses it and remains to be on the power electronics side of extreme. The drilling brutal sound of the second track "Symptoms" is covered with the sand of scratches, analog pulsations and noisy radio splashes. The head track "Nil by Mouth" is full of obscure, depressing and morose atmosphere, spinning into the vortex of desperation. Spoken session which guides "Regaining Our Faith" fits into the spirit of some pervert sermon as the distorted crowd chanting answers to it, slowly transforming into the wavy "When We Burn". The final track starts with slow, gloomy, sometimes almost chaotic atmosphere and progresses towards a thick violent machinery point to that creation of Isomer with David shooting me right into the head with his "Infant Promise".
After listening few times to this relatively short record, I remain with "short, but right to the point" feeling. Sometimes, there is no need in long, ten or twenty minutes of run time tracks in order to express the inner condition, and better concentrate all the strength in one exact punch, that will reach its goal. Here David steps into a mine field of averagism that rules the genre for a past decade, but proudly finds his way, giving a lot of hope to all fans of power electronics, and states that the day is still not ended and this scene have not said its last word yet.
Taken from Brutal Resonance

Here we have the new mini release from Isomer, which takes the nosier aspects of the last album ‘Face Towards the Sun’ and consolidates it into a slightly more focused and forceful sound (…which I might add also deviates quite heavily from the dark ambient style of earlier albums). Essentially ‘Nil by Mouth’ seeks out heavy electronics / power electronics avenues – a la the sound of early Tesco Organisation and Loki Foundation labels, such as Dagda Mor, very early Inade, Genocide Organ, Ex.Order etc.
6 tracks featured over 30 minutes, the sound bridges the clinical (computer generated perhaps?), and a tone with a bit more grit and punch (analogue synth and distortion pedal derived perhaps?). Yet regardless of how sounds were generated, opener ‘Slave Ritual’ more than positive sets the tone – wavering noise layers, semi-militant looped percussion sample and an excellent vocals which are heavily distorted/ echoed in treatment. Within a similar focused frame ‘Regaining Our Faith’ presents a multi-faceted heavy electronics piece, built on multiple, downwardly spiralling noise layers, sustained drones and static crunch, complimented with echoed vocal sample. Wearing its influence on its sleeve and coming across as a solid homage to Genocide Organ ,‘When We Burn’ takes a layered approach to its wavering distorted core with occasional interjections of heavily processed vocals which suits the sound and approach perfectly. Final track ‘Infant Promise’ has some great random factory type clattered (recorded with some serious cavernous depth), heavy grinding bass textures and again with the heavily processed vocal, which all ramp up through the track’s duration before abruptly cutting out.
Although released in a short pressing for availability at a live action Isomer played with Genocide Organ in Mannheim Germany in May, 2011, this should not be passed over as some sort of minor stop gap release. ‘Nil By Mouth’ illustrates a strong sound and focused direction for Isomer, and as such I am greatly looking forward to what comes next.
Taken from Noise Receptor