REVIEWS - Islands - Return to the Sea - Equator

It was no surprise to me that the Unicorns broke up. Almost every one of their songs from 2003’s phenomenal Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? was piled high with ghost tales, death sweats and a whole host of other macabre references. Not to mention live sets, which were energetic, crazy concoctions that no doubt left the poor Canadians more frazzled than they could handle. It was as if their break up was meant to be. I was sad, but I got over it. Two years later, enter Islands, a band led by J’aime Tambeur and Nick Diamonds, two out of three of the original Unicorns members. Along with a small crew of six other noisemakers, Islands seem to pick up right where the Unicorns left off with Return to the Sea’s opening track, “Swan (Life After Death),” which manages to pay homage to Islands’ former selves with the peppy, shining seas and azure skies that engulf the song. The stand out track on the album, though, has to be “Where There’s A Will, There’s a Whalebone,” a drug-den anthem that mixes a haunting bass line with synth-organ to glorious pop ends. In fact, the song’s a winner even before it hits the frantic hip hop bridge that crowns the record (thank you Th’Corn Gangg). Although not quite as amazing as the Unicorns’ debut, this album is a very solid record that deserves a listen by anyone interested in music (yeah, I said it). So grab a daiquiri, hit the beach, and blast your boombox, baby, ‘cause Islands are here, and they don’t need no damn Ark to survive the flood.

– Landon Graham