United in Isolation

Concept and musical style

Conceptually, Thomas Rawle has described United in Isolation as "almost a concept album", with a main lyrical "focal point". "In a very broad sense, it's about human nature's desire to always be coupled with another, and how love can sometimes be a vessel of selfishness. It's almost like animal behaviour, and I guess we are animals, just with language and ego".

In regards to their previous releases from a musical perspective, bassist Angus Gardiner likens the band's musical evolution evident throughout United in Isolation as "like a windy road that’s slowly becoming straight. At the start we were covering so much ground and now it’s all sort of funnelling into one direction". Adding to the discussion of the more focused musical direction of United in Isolation, singer/guitarist Thomas Rawle said "I feel like people couldn’t really gauge our direction before [with previous EPs] but now they should have a very good idea of what we’re about".

Bonus, Deluxe and Limited Edition releases

Various bonus, deluxe and limited editions of the album have been released.

The United in Isolation (Deluxe Edition) iTunes LP, made available through the iTunes Store, includes two bonus tracks, "Friend" and "(My Soul Was) Born on Death Row". In addition, it includes interactive hand-drawn artwork by Thomas Rawle, and various multimedia elements such as behind-the-scenes videos and photos.

A special pre-order United in Isolation package was made available for JB Hi-Fi and Red Eye Records online customers, including a signed copy of the album and a bonus limited edition 7 track EP titled Memoirs From A Bedroom: Issue 1, featuring previously unreleased new Papa vs Pretty songs.

Reception

The album received positive reviews, with the mature and "confident" songwriting and production in particular praised, and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2011 ARIA Music Awards, as well as being nominated for the 2011 Triple J J Award for Album of the Year.

Awarding the album a 9 out of 10 for Triple J Magazine, Christian Burling hailed their debut as being "worlds beyond their collective years, carried by youthful abandon, charisma and enthusiasm," and that the band had set the bar "ridiculously high". Giving a 4.5 out of 5 for The Brag, where the album was also awarded Album of the Week, Jonno Seidler wrote that the record "is orchestrated and aurally mapped to perfection," lavishly praising the often "exquisitely moody" songs and Rawle's vocal and "shredding" guitar talents. Nathan Jolly of The Music Network praised the album's production, saying "The twin attack of producer [Paul] McKercher and mixer Scott Horscroft makes for a mammoth sounding record," adding that, whilst "the sheer size of this album is what first attracts, it's the subtleties throughout that will give this album longevity." Jolly adds that the album thrives on its "space and size", found through the "perfect" marriage of the band's "poised delicacy" and "bombastic" rock elements. Mariam Digges of PagesDigital remarked that the album was "an earsplitting debut", and one "set to be a stand out Australian album for 2011." Reporting for the Australian Associated Press, Ross Purdie stated that "Without doubt ones to watch, the indie rock three-piece have created a confident and assured debut," foreseeing a "bold future for the band".

Sam Hagaman of Brisbane's Rave Magazine called it a "well executed" album, praising in particular the band's vocal talents, stating that "lead singer Rawle's vocals fall into a warm, easy sound so natural it belies his age; at times the tone could even be mistaken for a young Freddie Mercury." Hagaman also noted the "classic rock influences", "rawking, rampant guitar solos", and "the odd falsetto hit, male harmonies and a song-writing touch of ecstatic harmonic highs," reminiscent of The Darkness. Awarding the album 4 out of 5 stars and Album of the Week for Radar Radio, Declan Dickinson praised the album's "mixture of dirty, grungy guitar riffs with soaring vocal harmonies provided by the group's wealth of singing talent", and asserted that "whether they realise it or not, Papa vs Pretty are fast becoming a part of the Australian Rock music canon."

Many reviewers favourably compared the album to such alternative rock luminaries as The Bends-era Radiohead, Jeff Buckley "(both in their frenzied flight and simmering restraint)", Muse, Silverchair and "a handful of Australian Triple J bands from the 90's," whilst Dickinson positively described the album as "AC/DC meets Nick Cave."

Personnel

Additional personnel