Isn't it incredible when an underground band suddenly draws both positive attention and praise? The effect of such an event is always different – some bands don't care and simply continue to plow the path they've set for themselves, and some feel compelled to answer their success by altering their practices to “better reflect” the new level they've achieved – but it's impossible to ignore the new landscape that success opens up. Islands' third album (second for ANTI–) instantly dives headlong into the latter, “we have to respond to this” category and makes no bones about it from the opening of the coyly entitled (again, perhaps a reflection of Arm's Way's success) “Switched On.” Right from the word go, the strings, acoustic instruments and the intrinsic beauty and romance that came with them do not register and Islands mastermind Nick Thorburn (now going by his new nom-de-rock “Nick Diamonds”) chooses instead to fill the space left vacant with as many keyboards and electronic sounds as the songs can hold before vacuum-sealing it all with a thick layer of plastic wrap in the ultimate expository statement of fame.
It doesn't appear that Vapours is designed to be Islands' ironic commentary on the notion of success either as, after “Switched On,” the trend continues and the protective plastic sheathe seems to get incrementally thicker over each successive song. While “No You Don't” tows the surprising line that “Switched On” sketched out, the title track from Vapours goes still further by incorporating a horn section similar to that on The Replacements' Pleased To Meet Me album or any of Springsteen's work with the E Street Band. It's a bitter pill to take for anyone that fell in love with the raw emotion and tentative delicacy of Arm's Way but, as they go, the band goes still further from their established sound, walks out onto the dance floor and trips the light fantastic through “Devout,” “Tender Torture” and “Shining.” In each case, the instrumentation of the songs as well as the dynamics of them sound significantly less than genuine and couldn't even be called an earnest attempt at trying to capitalize on the multitude of ears that Arm's Way attracted; it's just too far off-base and different. With the sweeping keyboard vamps that dominate each song (but particularly “On Foreigner” and “The Drums”), the songs themselves sound just cheesy and Thorburn's vocals end up either sounding out of place or just lame when placed against that backdrop.
With such a shift away from Islands' previous sound registered by Vapours, it can only be understood that all bets are off in regards to whatever the band does next. Such a staggering departure in form will certainly scare some of the fans that the band made with Arm's Way off and others will be put off by this kind of indulgence, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost necessarily; some uninitiated curiosity seekers may be drawn in by the groove-centered and far more modern-sounding approach that Islands has taken this time and, as different as it is, it is a well-constructed album and is possessed of an obvious, clear intent: go work out a sound that is poppier, but still true to Thorburn's often overly self-critical sensibilities. That said, there's no doubt that Vapours will be able to find an audience, it just won't be the same one that was drawn in by Arm's Way.
Artist:
www.islandsareforever.com/
www.myspace.com/islands
Further reading:
Ground Control interview with Nick Thorburn of Islands.
Album:
Vapours is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
