Islands, Return to the Sea

reviewed by dave heaton

"We noticed something glowing /and it was growing / things are going to change..."

The Montreal band Islands' debut album Return to the Sea is marked by that sense of discovery, by the feeling that you've stumbled onto a hidden island, that you're uncovering a new world. It's in the lyrics, with their focus on sea exploration, on civilizations ending and building, on people dying and finding new life.

Its sprawling opening song "Swans (Life After Death)" begins with the narrator waking up after death, finding himself on an island. And the album continues from there, with images of rivers and suns and journeys and the sky falling. And bodies; "we all live in awkward little homes", Nick Diamonds sings about them on "Ones", and the ways they interact. There's a gorgeous love song that forms from the intersection of these themes - "Jogging Gorgeous Summer," with its repeated line "millions of sunsets but the one I'll remember / is the one where you told me you'll love me forever."

That song's steel drum and cuica lend it a tropical feeling - much of the album is less overtly run through with the same mood. A variety of instruments take the basic rock-band format in a brighter direction: french horn, accordian, clavinet, piano, clarinet, trumpet. Though even when it's just guitar, bass, drums, and vocals the same feeling is there. Whether they're playing a building pop-rock song like "Swans" (a song that for its feeling of upward motion is bound to draw Arcade Fire comparisons) or a spritely off-kilter pop tune like "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby", the tone is light and airy, echoing the impression that this album is one of rebirth.

Of course, I'm writing around the fact that biographically it's a fresh start too, considering that Islands was born from the ashes of The Unicorns. Diamonds and J'aime Tambour, the two central Islands members, were both in that short-lived but beloved band. That sets Islands up for failure in a way, as critics in particular are no doubt bound to compare more closely than they listen. The fact that Return to the Sea includes performances from members of currently hot Canadian bands The Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade means a level of hype is inevitable, though, so I suppose those two facts cancel each other out and we're left with the music, which is what we should be paying attention to anyway.

On that account Return to the Sea dazzles. It's bright, snazzy pop-rock music created by musicians who aren't about to define what 'pop' or 'rock' really means. That's why calypso comes into the picture, why unique instruments liven up the sound, why there's a track where two guest MCs (Busdriver and Subtitle) appear to force hip-hop into the mix. I say "force" because their style in no way naturally fits with the music. But that feeling of newness is part of what this whole endeavor is about, part of why the album feels so refreshing.

{www.myspace.com/islandsareforever}