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Islands
Return to the Sea
Spunk!/Virgin

 

Rating: 75%

Unicorns became one of the first truly touted Canadian acts of the past few years – the indie pop three-piece’s debut Who Will Cut Out Hair When We’re Gone? was revered before the likes of Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire, the Dears et al burst onto the public consciousness. Sadly, the group only lasted a short while, splintering apart.

Islands represent Nicholas Diamonds and Jaime Tambour, two-thirds of Unicorns, but the sound is removed from that group. It’s a slightly tougher sound to its predecessor, with opener “Swans (Life After Death)” going through several stages throughout its nine minute evolution, ending with the sort of lead guitar whig-out that would make Neil Young and Crazy Horse proud. The indie pop “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby” is an easy pleaser, with a nice steady rhythm and a catchy chorus.

Islands do it well, but essentially it’s very much a streamlined version of what the Unicorns delivered – “Rough Gem” is straighter than anything that that group ever did, while the instrumental “Tsuxiit” is a great listen. Hip-hoppers Subtitle and Busdriver come out to play on “Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone”, while Will Butler from Arcade Fire acts as ‘marching band’ on the track.

The sound of Return to the Sea is not that far removed from the Flaming Lips with the way it pulses with strong rhythm within a powerful song structure. Less lo-fi than Unicorns, Islands most certainly charms its way into the listener’s life through its songs. Whilst the amazing reviews coming out of America are a touch over-the-top – the album is merely a good indie pop album, rather than something truly groundbreaking – it’s certainly the case that Islands have released a strong debut that gives them a great platform from which to build.


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