Islands Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
On their previous album, Arm's Way, Islands inflated the sweet and quirky sound of their first album, Return to the Sea, into an unwieldy mess of overly ambitious arrangements and overcooked songwriting. On 2009's Vapours, the band and songwriter/vocalist Nick Diamonds have scaled back the sound considerably and delivered an album of mostly straightforward indie rock with enough lyrical and sonic weirdness to keep things interesting. Plenty of vintage synths, cheesy drum machines, and off-kilter arrangements can be heard, as well as songs with the typically strange lyrical imagery Diamonds has dealt out since his days with the Unicorns. What makes Vapours a success, though, is that the majority of the songs have strong melodies and sharp hooks. The lighthearted, easygoing tracks like "Vapours," "Switched On," and "Disarming the Car Bomb" are the easiest to latch onto initially. Diamonds' wispy, intimate voice proves more than enough to handle the demands of being a pop/rocker, and the band has a light touch as it bounces along happily. As you listen to the record, though, it's the tracks with a little more emotional depth that really grab you. Whether it's the vocoder-led ballad "Heartbeat" or "On Foreigner" (which sounds like a Western take on 10cc's "I'm Not in Love" with its twangy guitars and huge vocal harmonies), the restraint of the arrangements and the hushed intimacy of Diamonds' singing allow the songs to sink in. In the past it would have been a stretch to call an Islands song emotionally honest or even affecting, but they pull it off repeatedly on the album. Showing more than a trace of the bombast of Arm's Way, a couple of songs like "Drums" and "Shining" collapse under their own weight and are the only things that keep Vapours from being Islands' best work. Still, this is a welcome return to form for the band. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Islands' Arm's Way isn't a complete disaster, but it flirts with it before ending up as merely a seriously flawed and unenjoyable album. Their debut was a ramshackle mess of kitchen-sink experimentation that worked a treat thanks to the band's endearingly weird arrangements and undeniably catchy songs. Much like an album by front man Nick Thorburn's previous band, the Unicorns, there was humor and devil may care attitude coursing through the grooves. Arm's Way makes the mistake of taking things more seriously, bathing songs in strings and arranging things so slickly and epically that you have to check the liners for a Dave Fridmann production credit. It's not there but it might as well be as large chunks of the record sound like Mercury Rev outtakes. Unfortunately like that band's late period releases, there's a hole where the soul should be. Tracks like "The Arm" and "Kids Don't Know Shit" sound bloated and Thorburn's constant bouts of dramatic over-singing give the album a desperate and affected feel. One of the best aspects of their first album was the playful sonic weirdness that was organically integrated into their sound; here it seems grafted on at the last minute. The faux-Latin jam in the middle of "J'Aime Vous Voir Quitter" sounds like Buster Poindexter wandered into the studio, and the bit on "In the Rushes" where they lift the conclusion of the Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" only serves to remind you of how it's possible to be epic without being over-bearing and cold; these attempts at adventurism fall embarrassingly flat. The songs that do work on Arm's Way are the few that strip back the bombast and show a little bit of restraint like the slinky disco rocker "Creeper," the relatively calm and melodic "To a Bond," or the melancholy ballad "Life in Jail," which incorporates the strings and oboe into the fabric of the song instead of just splashing them on top. Well, the first half of the song, anyway, until they break into a silly swing jam and then proceed to head back to the more familiar over-the-top territory of the rest of the record. Arm's Way is the sound of a band forgetting what made them fun and highly listenable and instead grasping for a grand statement that is far beyond their reach. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
'Return to the Sea'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 11
Label Rough Trade
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On their debut record, Return to the Sea, Montreal's Islands have crafted a rich, exciting, and emotionally deep sounding album that carries on the freewheeling spirit and sound of the Unicorns as well as that of the Elephant 6 bands of the late '90s. You see, Islands singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer Nick Diamonds and drummer Jaime were members of the Unicorns and they have taken the strengths of that band, amplified and adjusted them, added a few more vital ingredients, and come up with a disc that satisfies on a variety of levels and rates among the best indie rock around. The Unicorns were a lo-fi, experimental car crash of a band, equal parts whimsy and exuberance; Islands are a much more adult and measured experience with a much cleaner sound and more classic arrangements (lots of strings, accordions, standup bass, and pianos to go with the cheap synthesizers). Diamonds' voice is much less whimsical; he has scaled back on the Coyne meter from nine to around five and now conveys his slightly off-kilter lyrics with more emotion and honesty. Despite the changes, the group hasn't lost any of the sunshine-addled spark that the Unicorns had, as songs like the whirling "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" or "Jogging Gorgeous Summer" (which comes kitted out with steel drums and recorder!) clearly demonstrate. The trippy "Volcanoes" (nice rock snob reference to the Troggs tapes in the lyrics), the indie psych/hip-hop mash-up featuring the rhyme skills of Subtitle and Busdriver, or the epic-length psychedelic singalong that opens the record so nicely ("Swans [Life After Death]") show that the band hasn't lost their ambition, either. "Ones" itself has more big-hearted ambition and dramatic power than most bands could dream of unleashing. The lovely instrumental "Tsuxiit" or the sweetly pop-rocking "Rough Gem" sound like the work of another band entirely, and indeed all of these comparisons to the Unicorns are ultimately irrelevant. It's not like you have to be a fan of that band to fall in love with this one. All you need is an indie pop heart and two functioning ears. A love of melodies and innocent weirdness. The ability to see through the clouds of hype surrounding other lesser bands and grab on tight to this band and record. So clap your hands, say yeah, and throw Islands a parade (wolf or otherwise) because Return to the Sea is an indie rock triumph. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
