Islands - A Sleep & A Forgetting (Anti, 2012)

Islands

A Sleep & A Forgetting

Anti

2012

Rating: 7 lonely crabs out of 10

I quite enjoyed the previous group Islands founders Nicholas Thorburn and Jaime Thompson played in called Unicorns, but after they broke up I sorta forget about all things involved with that band.  Here it is four albums later and I'm just now getting around to listening to their "new band" Islands.  Too much good music in the world, too little time I guess.

I almost need to give two scores for this record - there's the second track "This Is Not A Song," and there is the rest of the album.  The album as a whole is very enjoyable - if you thought Unicorns were pretty much ripping off the pop sound and revelry of the Elephant 6 collective, Islands sounds like a band who grew up on those same sounds but have grown into a more mature pop sound.  You might even describe it as "slick," similar to the hooks and sheen of a Nada Surf record or a band of that ilk.  

But "This Is Not A Song" - well, it's a fabulous song.  It might sound like a polished rip-off of Sparklehorse, but I don't even care.  It worms into your head in the best possible way, and without a doubt will be one of my favorite songs of the year.  Every time I hear it I'm singing it for the next couple of days.  It's this song that is going to keep me coming back to this record, and luckily the rest of the album pairs nicely.