Canadian indie rock band, Islands, released their fourth full-length album “A Sleep & A Forgetting” on Tuesday.
Still maintaining that “Islands sound,” this 11-track LP shows lead vocalist Nick Thornburn permeating each and every song with a personal reflection. This gives the album a fresh, strong emotional sense that was not developed in Islands’ previous releases.
Each song on the album covers topics of dreams, forgetfulness, memories and loss. This paired up with being released on Valentine’s Day makes the album the perfect gift for somebody who has found himself alone or dealing with a breakup. It touches on all the bases through calming beats and folk inspired sounds.
Released through Anti-Records, “A Sleep & A Forgetting” is the work of Thornburn and fellow members Evan Gordon, Geordie Gordon and Aaron Harris. This foursome put together this 37 minute slight whisper of an album that has the ability to be simple background study music or the emotional accompaniment for a long drive home.
Opening up the album with Thornburn pleading for somebody to open their door and let him in on the first track “In A Dream (It Seemed Real),” Islands captures listeners right away. The slight whisking of the snare drum paired up with slight guitar riffs and airy vocals carries the listener away into the rhythm.
The album’s first single, “This Is Not A Song,” fills the albums track two slot. This piano-heavy, break-up, love-is-gone ballad is perfect for the first song on any mixed C.D. for an ex-lover. With a slight hint of Keane sounds mixed with a bit of John Mayer-esque melodies this track definitely is a song in spite of its title.
The third song, “Never Go Solo,” takes the piano playing on this album to the next level. It is very apparent that Thornburn has chosen the piano to be his instrument of choice for this LP. This song speeds up the tempo and the energy of the album that appeared to be going of into a hole of depression for the first few songs there. The lyrics still flow with the whole break-up, sadness, love is no more vibe of the album but at least with this song the listener is able to bob their head and maybe even clap their hands a bit.
“Hallways” picks up the tempo of the album mixing in some percussion with the piano almost as if a handclap is the backbeat of the track. In a way it’s as if Thornburn was making a sarcastic joke about love with the down-and-out lyrics tied together with the upbeat tune like a musical oxymoron of sorts, and a good one at that.
Islands mastered a feel-good sounding album with lyrics to accompany a broken heart. An album that catches a person looking for an easy listen as well as a person looking for some quality lyrics to tweet about an ex with.
Though at times the album can seem rather mundane with the low-key beat, Islands by no means disappoints with this perfect Valentine’s Day album release.
Even though the lyrics are much more emotional and relationship stabbing, Islands has kept their fresh sound alive with “A Sleep & A Forgetting” that is sure to please any fan.
