 | Islands |
Islands – Arm’s Way – Anti Records – 2008
Well I was going to wait until next week when these guys play at Logan Square before writing anything up on them, but the album has slowly totally grown on me to such an extent I figured I would write a little something up now. This band is from Canada (of course), with former members of the Unicorns. The album didn’t really grab me initially, but there is a lot of depth to the songs here, and they really start to grow on you with multiple listens, and as you continue to explore it there are a wealth of styles and ideas bouncing around in here. It crosses the lines between upbeat poppy almost carnival-esque kind of music and great epic walls of sound repeatedly, and I think that is really its appeal is the combination of these conflicting sounds.
“The Arm” is where the album starts off with a very sweet atmosphere, which immediately gives way to jumpy riffage backed by strings. This is a very good song which ties unique instrumentation in with some very solid rhythms and melodies and harmonies which all mix very nicely together. “Pieces of You” continues the rather offbeat timing and style of the record, but without being overly weird and remaining familiar. The chorus is really very traditional rock and ties it all together. Generally the record continues on in this way of giving you offbeat riffs and hooks and almost always over the course of the song the strangeness of the sound is percfectly inhabited by the full sound of the band, so that it never seems out of place in the end. “Abominable Snow” is a great song which has kitschy guitar licks brought together with strings in a slowly building epic kind of song, which slows it down at the end perfectly. “Creeper” I think is supposed to be the single on the album, and it is probably the most pop friendly kind of song on the album. I think it has a great little backbeat to it that really brings the song along, and it is a nice change of pace from the rest of the album. Though it is not my favorite on there, I’m sure it will find its way into a commercial somewhere as it is the most radio-friendly song on here (and I’m sure PR types will latch onto it as sounding like Maroon 5 or something). However, “Kids Don’t Know Shit” comes right in after that and lets you once again know what this album is really about, and is just a great straight ahead rock kind of song. The title doesn’t hurt either. “Life in Jail” I think is a pretty funny song, and is also really good. “In the Rushes” contains a very literal homage to one of my favorite songs ever, The Who’s “A Quick One While He’s Away”. It is not completely literal however, with changed but similar lyrics, and “you are forgiven” changed to “you are forgotten”. The song itself is really good as well. The rest of the album is really strong and finishes out very nicely. “We Swim” and “To a Bond” are great slower kinds of songs that really flesh out the full sound of the band, as does “I Feel Evil Creeping In”.
I think the album does a great job of really trying to go for a very big, grand, epic kind of sound but achieves it by contrasting it against the more eclectic and softer parts of the album so that it works very well. It doesn’t really sound forced to me. Unlike a lot of albums that really go for it in that way it does not go overboard and does not overdo it, and really does it very well. Every time I listen to it I like it more and more and it is becoming one of my faves so far this year as it grows on me. It is rare that an album does such a good job of combining more offbeat indie rock kind of conventions with traditional rock conventions to really have those sounds complement each other so well for this kind of an end result. It also kind of feels a lot to me like a more old school kind of songwriting updated with a more modern sound a la MGMT’s album “Oracular Spectacular”. I really do recommend checking this album out if you haven’t already, and certainly check them out on tour. They are playing here in Chicago next Monday at Logan Square (rescheduled from Mid-May) and I am really looking forward to seeing them live here. They also have many more dates around the globe (well, North America I guess):
* 05.28.08; 8pm; Le National – (Montreal, Quebec)
* 05.29.08; 8pm; The Phoenix – (Toronto, Ontario)
* 05.30.08; 8pm; Call the Office – (London, Ontario)
* 05.31.08; 8pm; The Starlight – (Waterloo, Ontario)
* 06.01.08; 8pm; Crofoot – ALL AGES (Pontiac, MI)
* 06.02.08; 8pm; Logan Square Auditorium – ALL AGES (Chicago, IL)
* 06.03.08; 8pm; First Ave. – ALL AGES (Minneapolis, MN)
* 06.04.08; 8pm; The Aquarium – ALL AGES (Fargo, ND)
* 06.05.08; 8pm; West End Cultural Center – ALL AGES (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
* 06.06.08; 8pm; Amigo’s (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
* 06.07.08; 8pm; Starlite – ALL AGES (Edmonton, Ontario)
* 06.08.08; 8pm; Warehouse – ALL AGES (Calgary, Alberta)
* 06.10.08; 8pm; Plaza Club – ALL AGES (Vancouver, British Columbia)
* 06.12.08; 8pm; Neumo’s – ALL AGES (Seattle, WA)
* 06.13.08; 8pm; Hawthorne Theatre – ALL AGES (Portland, OR)
* 06.14.08; 8pm; Broadway Block Party – ALL AGES (Eugene, OR)
* 06.16.08; 8pm; Bimbo’s 365 – ALL AGES (San Francisco, CA)
* 06.17.08; 8pm; Henry Fonda Theatre – ALL AGES (Los Angeles, CA)
* 06.19.08; 8pm; Epicentre – ALL AGES (San Diego, CA)
* 06.20.08; 8pm; Club Congress – ALL AGES (Tuscon, AZ)
* 06.21.08; 8pm; Clubhouse – ALL AGES (Tempe, AZ)
* 06.23.08; 8pm; Emo’s Outside – ALL AGES (Austin, TX)
* 06.24.08; 8pm; Granada Theatre – ALL AGES (Dallas, TX)
* 06.25.08; 8pm; Walter’s – ALL AGES (Houston, TX)
* 06.26.08; 8pm; Chelsea’s – ALL AGES (Baton Rouge, LA)
* 06.27.08; 8pm; Masquerade – ALL AGES (Atlanta, GA)
* 06.28.08; 8pm; Neighborhood Theatre – ALL AGES (Charlotte, NC)
