ISLAND
Alternative
London, England, UK
Brit quartet ISLAND debuted in 2018 with their album Feels Like Air, a solid intro into what ISLAND was going to be all about. Atmospheric guitar, clean-yet-gruff vocals that seemed a bit timid at times, and almost a balancing act between something they weren’t (yet) and something they felt the need to be. What that ‘need’ was is hard to say, but there was life there in the debut. Groundbreaking? Hardly. But a solid Brit-alt album? Sure. One listen to “The Day I Die” shows you the power and ability this band has.
After a few years off, the band came back with a more poised and assertive sound. From the moment the first single, “Octopus”, dropped you could hear it. You heard it in the recording, in their vocals, in their musicianship. What made the debut compelling was still there, but they finally got to where they wanted to be it feels like. That energy that made “The Day I Die” so great was there tenfold. The moxie oozed from the stereo and the confidence was crystal clear. Lo and behold a few months post-single release, Yesterday Park released. It was pumped full of alt goodness and a many a songs one could pull out and say “this is single material”. “Do You Remember the Times,” the aforementioned “Octopus,” and “By Your Side” all shine. Almost a year later, and we’re still visiting this album from time to time.
Wherever the band is headed, we’re here to watch it happen and champion all things ISLAND. LP3 is one of our most looked forward to releases, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait 3 years again. This band has what it takes to tour with similar acts like Inhaler, Sam Fender, and Catfish and the Bottlemen, and when that does happen we’ll be the first in line to buy a ticket.
/nbt.fm