Artist: Islands
Album: Return to the Sea    
Label: Equator Records
Tracks: 11
Length: 55:47

Review by: Luke Kruse

 

Is maturity an admirable trait in music?  Are traits such as “rawness” and “recklessness” sought after descriptors or flaws?  For a case study, take a look at the new project, Islands, from ex-Unicorns members Nick Diamonds and J’amie Tambeur.  No one would argue against the fact that their cracked-out pop songs about ghosts and yes, unicorns, while known as The Unicorns lacked maturity.  The songs were short and sloppy, but undeniably infectious and fun.  Their only full length, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? became a bit of an indie-rock hit in 2003 before the band imploded.  Islands came out of the band breakup and while their sound is not a complete 180 from The Unicorns, the songwriting has certainly matured, and the results are good.

 

Islands is a collaborative affair, with members from such well-known acts as The Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade appearing as musicians to flesh out the songs, and the bands overall sound would definitely appeal to fans of either of those acts.  With the exception of opening track, “Swans, a 9+ minute guitar-rock epic, the remaining songs are mostly 3-4 minute experimental indie-pop songs that range from the cute (“Don’t Call me Whitney, Bobby”) to the strange (“Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone”).  The latter track even features a rap breakdown that transcends novelty status and works nicely to propel the second half of the album.  Lyrically, the band can be both whimsical (“Bones, bones brittle little bones / It’s not the milk you seek / it’s the sun you need”) and earnest (“Millions of sunsets / but the one I’ll remember / is the one where you told me / You’ll love me forever”).  This sort of diversity ensures that the album never becomes stale or repetitive.

 

While a couple tracks, such as “If,” are not quite as strong as some of the others, the band makes up for that small criticism with the inclusion of songs like “Volcanoes” and “Rough Gem,” which are early contenders for song of the year.  “Return to Sea” is such a successful album because it is mature without being safe.  The band has honed its abilities as musicians and songwriters since their days as The Unicorns, but have not lost their ability to challenge the listener and write outstanding pop songs.  Some will miss the recklessness of The Unicorns, but Islands show great promise with their newfound sense of melody.  This is one of the few cases where a mature album is still a great deal of fun.  Let’s hope Islands can last more than one album.