ISLANDS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM, VAPOURS, OUT SEPTEMBER 22nd

Monday June 22, 2009

ANTI TO RELEASE MONTREAL BAND’S THIRD STUDIO ALBUM ON SEPTEMBER 22nd   

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 from Montreal's thriving music scene (including members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade), helmed by Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson. Thompson departed amicably from the group shortly after the album was released, and 2007's Arm's Way found the band turning in a new direction towards lushly orchestrated, guitar-driven prog-rock. Thompson has returned to the band for Vapours, a record that flits back and forth between moody synthesizers and drum-machine-heavy beats, while remaining firmly rooted in the classic pop sensibilities and multitude of melodic hooks that Islands is known for. 

Produced by Nick Diamonds and Chris Coady (who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead, TV On The Radio, among others), this is the group's most stunning work to date.  

Select Press Quotes on Islands:
Islands winks at pop convention but transcends the formulaic pop genre with layers of instrumental solos that teeter on discordant drama and uncontained feverish mirth…Full of frolicking jovial pop ditties – and even tinkering with rap – Return to the Sea brims with childlike whimsy showing that well-executed pop is back. –SOMA  

"Each song plays out like a mini theatrical production wherein the narrator is stabbed in the heart and attacked by a pack of dogs. It's dark and dramatic, yet behind all that lies ex-Unicorns member Nick Thorburn's penchant for pop music, meaning catchy hooks and melodies are among the commotion." BILLBOARD

"Taking near-theatrical turns, the band's sprawling indie pop skips from genre to genre, trying on arena rock and neo-psychedelia while following ringleader Nick Diamonds' whims like a mythical beast across so many islands." -PASTE

Islands Artist Page