The band is set to release “A Sleep & A Forgetting” on Valentine’s Day.
You might remember Islands as the band that arose out of the ashes of the Unicorns. Those days seem like ancient history now as the band moves onto their fourth record, “A Sleep & A Forgetting,” due out February 14th, 2012 on Anti-Records.
While the band is known for a loose and fun style, like the calypso influence on “Return to the Sea,” or the the synth based indie rock of “Vapours,” “A Sleep & a Forgetting” is said to be much more introspective. ” This album is far more personal than any I’ve made before,” says frontman Nick Thorburn. “I left New York after the end of a relationship and came to Los Angeles. There was a piano where I was staying and that’s where I wrote these songs. This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming. I started writing it on Valentine’s Day and it’s coming out on Valentine’s Day.”
While this description sounds like we’re in for Islands’ take on Beck’s “Sea Change,” the musical focus is apparently on classic soul like Smokey Robinson and the Temptations. “The sound is really my interpretation of soul music,” says Thorburn. “I mean, I’m a white kid from Canada so it’s gonna be very warped. But that’s where my head was at, that particular way of dealing with themes of pain and heartbreak.”
Islands will be playing a show Friday, October 28th at the Dominion Theater and Lounge in Manhattan, so this may be the best way to hear what he’s talking about. Here’s Islands where we left them last with the opening track from “Vapours,” “Switched On.”
