Islands - What Occurs - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Band - Islands [COMPACT DISCS] SHM CD, Japan - Import date 07/01/2016

Should I Remain Here, at Sea?, Islands' 7th, is, in many ways, a spiritual sequel to the debut album, 2006's Return to the Sea; a natural, raw record, stripped down to it's essentials, performed live off the floor. Reflecting on the decade that has elapsed, SIRHAS kicks off with a darkly funny tartness, tackling religion, race, addiction, and murderous fantasies, but by midpoint, the songs give way to a resigned and doleful melancholia, tackling heartache, numb disillusionment and emotional disorientation through the guise of stupid parrots, the Internet, sea turtles and perhaps the loneliest maritimer to ever sail the seas. It was recorded as spontaneously as could be, with some of the songs captured live in one take, vocals and all.

If Islands' last record, (2021's Islomania) was a Saturday Night Fever dream, then the follow up- 2023's And That's Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs-is the Sunday Morning comedown. Taking a giant leap forward, replete with addictive hooks at every turn, Dolphins (the 9th record in the catalogue), stands out as the strongest and most articulate Islands record yet. Nick Thorburn and crew manage to tap into both the pain and the joy of living, (sometimes within the very same breath), while musically stripping things down to their simplest element a bouncing bassline, a snappy kick and snare, or a persistent, hooky guitar line. Though Dolphins is arguably their biggest musical departure (which is saying something, coming from a band that has constantly reinvented their sound from album to album), the DNA of Thorburn's first band The Unicorns can clearly be heard throughout songs like InchHeadlinesInch, InchLife's A JokeInch and InchAnd All You Can Do is LaughInch. Dolphins, which came together over a methodical, carefully considered multi-year process, continues Thorburn's fruitful collaboration with co-producer Patrick Ford (!!!), and features production on a few songs from Chris Coady (Beach House) and Mike Stroud (Ratatat)