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RECORD REVIEWS

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Islands
Return to the Sea
Equator 2006

Islands are ex-Unicorns Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur and their debut Return to Sea is a diverse collection of quirky pop tunes from all over the musical map. The two have streamlined their approach - emphasizing their songwriting abilities at the expense of their weirdness. Though they’ve cut through the chaos, there’s no shortage of interesting ideas. The overall sound sits somewhere between Animal Collective’s organic breezy harmonic layered gigantism, the late-period Byrds’ pastoralism, and Fiery Furnaces cut-and-paste postmodern adventurism. I may prefer the Unicorns loose attitude, roughness, and experimentalism - but this is good stuff and much more sophisticated. Return to Sea is digestible enough for mass appeal – particularly “Rouch Gem” – which is driven by a Prince “When You Were Mine” riff. Overall pretty good but excellent in spots...

 

 

" Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" MP3

 

 

 

 

 

© New York Night Train , 2006