Islands - Arm’s Way (Rough Trade)
4/5
By: Sam Crawford
BUY DOWNLOADThe second album from Montreal group Islands, formed from the ashes of highly praised The Unicorns, is here to engulf you with idyllic summery charm, throwing out immaculately assembled pop gems that deliver sublime upbeat songs often contrasted with darker lyrical content.
Arm's Way starts by extending its cheerful reach out with The Arm, a song brimming with cheery upbeat sentiment, holding a mammoth Hank Marvin style guitar lick at its core, with whimsical strings fancifully playing alongside it, while Thorburn's voice exudes joyous passion together with rosy lyrics; "help you up help you out, to help you through, that's why the arm came for you."
'Pieces of You' has that summerhouse on the beach feel to it, while lyrically it tells the true story of a community in turmoil over the remorseless killing of a local man by a bunch of kids. "Pieces of you" hums out in the chorus quite chirpily, yet the true meaning of it feels quite haunting and thought provoking next to the songs charming tone.
Arm's Way has many pleasant surprises, with the fast paced 'J'aime Vous Voire Quitter' utilising drums speeding along with howling vocals before suddenly stopping halfway through and turning into a little slice of beach bar and cocktail paradise with the festive twang of a familiar sixties guitar riff.
As the journey continues into the end stages, it does start to start to lose some of the enjoyable aspects that it held at the beginning; 68 minutes seems too long when the later songs don't measure up to the brilliance of the first half; 'To a Bond' lacks direction and just drifts along aimlessly. This said, there are still a good few moments of splendour on this record, and there is enough to occupy you for a good while.
This album extends from the normal confines of pop; while it contains a wealth of highly accessible material, Islands branch out with their ideas, not clinging to the formula that helps so many other bands maintain their status, yet this is admirable as they gallantly experiment with many facets in Arm's Way while deftly keeping hold of the pop reigns that make them so easy to like.
Artists in this article: Islands, Islands Lost At Sea
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