On their previous album, Arm's Way, Islands inflated the sweet and quirky sound of their first album, Return to the Sea, into an unwieldy mess of overly ambitious arrangements and overcooked songwriting. On 2009's Vapours, the band and songwriter/vocalist Nick Diamonds have scaled back the sound considerably and delivered an album of mostly straightforward indie rock with enough lyrical and sonic weirdness to keep things interesting. Plenty of vintage synths, cheesy drum machines, and off-kilter arrangements can be heard, as well as songs with the typically strange lyrical imagery Diamonds has dealt out since his days with the Unicorns. What makes Vapours a success, though, is that the majority of the songs have strong melodies and sharp hooks. The lighthearted, easygoing tracks like "Vapours," "Switched On," and "Disarming the Car Bomb" are the easiest to latch onto initially. Diamonds' wispy, intimate voice proves more than enough to handle the demands of being a pop/rocker, and the band has a light touch as it bounces along happily. As you listen to the record, though, it's the tracks with a little more emotional depth that really grab you. Whether it's the vocoder-led ballad "Heartbeat" or "On Foreigner" (which sounds like a Western take on 10cc's "I'm Not in Love" with its twangy guitars and huge vocal harmonies), the restraint of the arrangements and the hushed intimacy of Diamonds' singing allow the songs to sink in. In the past it would have been a stretch to call an Islands song emotionally honest or even affecting, but they pull it off repeatedly on the album. Showing more than a trace of the bombast of Arm's Way, a couple of songs like "Drums" and "Shining" collapse under their own weight and are the only things that keep Vapours from being Islands' best work. Still, this is a welcome return to form for the band.
In 2005 Nick Thornburn (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and Jamie Thompson's (drums) band Islands was born upon the demise of their previous group, the very successful The Unicorns. Since then, they have featured a regularly changing lineup of contributing members: Alex and Sebastian Chow- the 1993 and 1994 World Super N.E.S. Fest champions (I'm not really sure what that means, maybe something to do...
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Islands dials back the excess just like you like it, you damn hipster rube.Islands have a problem. It's you. And it’s me. Vapours is their sugar-coated, poison response to their detractors. The prog-rockish Arm's Way alienated listeners looking for the band to replicate the Graceland-tinged, pre-Vampire Weekend, genre-hopping of their debut, Return to the Sea. The Arm's Way Era can now be viewe.
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An “impromptu” track-by-track review of Nick Diamonds’ latest album-of-the-year contender by Matthew R. Perrine: Islands releases just belong on the open road. To be fair, I’m probably more than a little biased. My first “moment” with the genius of frontman Nick Diamonds was listening to the second Islands outing, “Arm’s Way,” while traversing up and down Highway 53 late last
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Over the course of two albums Montreal's Islands have defied labeling. That doesn't change with the band's third full length Vapours (out this week). Under the guidance of mastermind Nick Diamond, the band deliver another package of pop songs dressed up in electronics.Diamond and company again run the gamut with Vapours. There are plenty of electronically based songs such as "Tender Torture"
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The concept is quite simple: a group of people listen to the same song and give their opinion as if they were in the same room listening to the radio at the same time. Stein said a bus is a bus is a bus, some said it was post-modernism, others said it was unreadable. Duchamp's The Fountain is called art by some, nonsense by others. Stein hit Duchamp in the nose and put it the wrong way up, Stei...
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Phenomenally good Canadian dark-indie band Islands have gone a little lighter for their next album by the sound of it. While previous full-length Arm's Way was a restrained exercise in dark, foreboding nihilism with a side-order of stalking, Vapours - due for release on September 22, 2009 - adds a little bit of disco-funk to the mix, gaining the band comparisons to the likes of MGMT.
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Canadian indie-rockers Islands have a new record due next week (September 21st) by the name of 'Vapours'. `Though its release date seems rather imminent and after an unfortunate leak earlier this week, the band have decided to stream the entire upcoming record on their Myspace page completely free-of-charge.
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Phenomenally good Canadian dark-indie band Islands have gone a little lighter for their next album by the sound of it. While previous full-length Arm's Way was a restrained exercise in dark, foreboding nihilism with a side-order of stalking, Vapours - due for release on September 22, 2009 - adds a little bit of disco-funk to the mix, gaining the band comparisons to the likes of MGMT.
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IslandsVapours(Anti-)Releasing: 22 SeptemberThe Montreal indie band returns this fall with their third full-length album. Jamie Thompson rejoins former bandmate Nick Diamonds on Vapours.SONG...
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Islands dials back the excess just like you like it, you damn hipster rube.Islands have a problem. It's you. And it’s me. Vapours is their sugar-coated, poison response to their detractors. The prog-rockish Arm's Way alienated listeners looking for the band to replicate the Graceland-tinged, pre-Vampire Weekend, genre-hopping of their debut, Return to the Sea. The Arm's Way Era can now be viewe.
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Montreal's Islands have announced the release of their third studio album. Vapours (notice the proper use of the 'u') will be released on September 22nd.The album was produced by Chris Coady (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and should be a solid listen.More details will be provided when available.Islands' Myspace
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The title track from Islands’ 3rd studio album, Vapours, has been officially leaked for everyone’s enjoyment! The album comes out on September 22nd via Anti-. “Vapours”...**Summary** Go to website for downloads, videos & more.
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The concept is quite simple: a group of people listen to the same song and give their opinion as if they were in the same room listening to the radio at the same time. Stein said a bus is a bus is a bus, some said it was post-modernism, others said it was unreadable. Duchamp's The Fountain is called art by some, nonsense by others. Stein hit Duchamp in the nose and put it the wrong way up, Stei...
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Following on from 2008's fantastic 'Arms Way', Montreal indie-rockers Islands have announced details of their third studio album, released later this year. The new LP goes by the name of Vapours and will hit shop shelves on September 22nd via the Anti- label.
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A while back we posted that Islands would be releasing a third album, titled Vapours. Strangely, between the time we got that news and now, The Tape heard a rumor of Nick Thorburn’s (known to many as Nick Diamonds) death in a plane crash. After much research, we can safely assume that it never happened, [...]
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Islands, the project of former Unicorns member Nick Diamonds, has a new LP produced by Diamonds and Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio) due out September 22nd. The title track from Vapours is a bouncy and uplifting ditty featuring a funked-out bass riff and brass section.Islands - "Vapours" (from Vapours)
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Islands, the best Canadian export since Fringe have gone from bringing us the best artwork of 2008 to the weirdest, most tripped-out cover of 2009. The album attached to the artwork will be called Vapours and is set for its emission on September 22, 2009 via Anti- Records.
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Nick Diamond and his boys, Islands, revealed a brand new song today which is, at the same time, the titled track of their upcoming album Vapours which you can expect to drop on September 22.Nick Diamonds’ polymorphous pop band, Islands, is back with their third studio album, Vapours. The 2006 debut, Return to the Sea, found eccentric and mellifluous pop tunes performed with a cast of characters.
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On September 22nd, Islands are releasing Vapours, which is their third album and followup to their 2008 Arm's Way.I can't even keep track of all the band changes going on, maybe someone else can.Unicorns > IslandsIslands - No You Don't
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Check it out, new music from Montreal natives Islands, off their upcoming album “Vapours” due out September 22nd. Island broke onto the scene with 2006’s “Return to the Sea,” followed it last year with “Arm’s Way,” and they’re back with a new simplified sound & we’re loving it! No You Don’t is a jittering, simple [...]
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This is a great pop-rock jam, Islands style. The song is “Vapours”, sharing the same title as their new album.Islands sound like their old selves here, sharing the same pop sensability that I adored on their debut album Return To The Sea.Vapours drops September 22nd.[mp3] : Islands – Vapours
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Switched On |
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| 2 No You Don't |
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| 3 Vapours |
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| 4 Devout |
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| 5 Disarming The Car Bomb |
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| 6 Tender Torture |
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| 7 Shining |
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| 8 On Foreigner |
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| 9 Heartbeat |
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| 10 The Drums |
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| 11 Eol |
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| 12 Everything Is Under Control |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Vapours")
