Islands

It was hardly two years ago that Nick Thorburn and his Islands released their wonderfully piano heavy record 'A Sleep & a Forgetting' and toured extensively in support of it. Since then the band didn't seem to take too much of a break and just dropped their fifth album on Nick Thornburn's very own label Manqué Records in September 2013. Full of multilayered pop melodies and hooky rock songs, 'Ski Mask' not only marks Islands most diverse record so far, but also sounds like a cross section of Islands' entire discography, the discography of a band which has been around, crafting marvellous pop songs, for almost a decade now. Thorburn's musical past even goes back a bit further. His previous band The Unicorns, which was well known for its enchanting lo-fi pop and became kind of a cult sensation in Montreal's indie scene, disbanded in 2005. Shortly after that, he founded Islands, whose records covered diverse styles ranging from lovely synthpop to orchestral prog rock and stripped-down piano songs. That's one of the many reasons why the band quickly gained a reputation as one of the most innovative formations emerging from the flourishing Montreal music scene. Their chameleonic variety of styles was now united on one single record featuring eleven songs. 'Ski Mask' can easily be regarded as Islands most versatile album and reconciles beautiful melodies with Thornburn's darkest lyrics to date. The thin line between beauty and bleakness suits Islands and the band will be back in Europe for clubshows and a range of festivals in 2014.

Links

www.myspace.com/islandsareforever

www.islandsareforever.com