From All Music Guide:
2001 was a good year for pixel pop fans -- at least, it was good for the lucky few who were able to get a hold of one (or both!) of the first two discs crafted by
Shaw-Han Liem (aka I Am Robot and Proud),
The Catch and
Spring Summer Autumn Winter. Those who weren't able to snag a copy of one of these babies through official means can rest easy, however, now that they've been reissued on one attractive, pale yellow disc. Like his later work, this is shimmering, skittering stuff that echoes the tender, computerized meanderings of
Lullatone and
Mum. Tracks like "The Satellite Kids" and "Vendredi le 30 Mars" cover the kind of delicate, warm and fuzzy territory that would eventually become a trademark in
Liem's work. It's also the kind of friendly, feel-good lap-pop that makes listening to his albums a joy, and there's plenty of it to be found throughout these 12 tracks. But if there's still a good deal of material here that suggests how mellow I Am Robot's work would become over the course of the next few years, there's an equal amount of jumpy, percussive movement suggestive of
Kraftwerk and, to an extent,
Aphex Twin.
The Catch's title track is stiff-jointed with blips and synths, as is "James' Equation," what with its clinical skips and chirrs. Which isn't to say that these tracks are any less human than
Liem's more organic pieces -- they're very much alive, in fact. But it's neat to hear
Kraftwerk's pronounced influence in these earlier works, especially when you take into account the kind of lush trappings
Liem would apply to this basic skeleton in the following years. This disc is a must-listen for newcomers and established fans alike -- especially for those fans who didn't have a chance to hear
The Catch the first time around.
+++
From: GBH
You need certain kinds of albums to get yourself through the winter. Sure, there are plenty of records that sound more appropriate during the summer, or particular sounds that correspond with spring, but when it gets cold and dark out, certain types of albums become as necessary as gloves and scarves, and trying to get by without them only makes life more unpleasant. There are plenty of adjectives you could trot out to describe this winter ware, but essentially, this corner of your music collection ought to be characterized by the unmistakable warmth emanating from its chilly constituent parts. It's the seasonal need for music like this that makes Darla Records' reissue of I Am Robot and Proud (a.k.a. Shaw-han Liem)'s winsome debut The Catch a well-timed boon. Liem's gift for creating warm, inward melodies is rivaled only by his ability to layer them expertly. At its best, The Catch & Spring... is intricate and intimate at the same time, filled with melodies and textures that collude at a deliberate, purposeful pace. Complex arrangements in electronic pop are nothing new, of course, but Liem's soft touch imbues his work with the feel of something private being revealed in confidence. "Eyes Closed Hopefully" has a heart-wrenching melody that's sped up to hide the weight that gets revealed later, while the complex swirl of dance-y melodies and arpeggios of "Read & Re-read" simplifies into a clearing of cautious bass and snipped vocal samples.
The Catch & Spring... is affecting even when Liem scales his musical ambitions back. "The Satellite Kids"'s keyboards are daydream-inducing, while "September Argument" undercuts its cold, metallic edges with distracted, wandering melodies and chimes. This album's trracks are as brisk and subtly heady as diary entries, the kind of thing you can either reflect on or lose yourself in, depending on your mood, or the windchill.