Islands worth a visit

By Jordan Hickey

Published April 11, 2006

Scarcely one year has elapsed since the Montréal-based band The Unicorns passed into extinction, accompanied by dismayed cries and mournful laments that echoed throughout much of the underground music world. They were thought to be gone forever, leaving behind only their music and a post-breakup offshoot band known as Th' Corn Gangg.

But April 4, two of the three Unicorns, Nicholas Thorburn and Jamie Thompson, released Return to the Sea as the band Islands, with the help of a few other musicians.

The band that now stands, arisen from the smoldering ashes of its predecessor, is one that holds a poppy sound, as contrasted to the previous lo-fi and electronic sounds characteristic of The Unicorns. Upon first listen, one might notice much remains the same, but as the album progresses it is clear considerably more has changed.

Unlike The Unicorns' material, which relied heavily on electronic assistance and modification, the vast majority of the album is devoid of any such influence. Rather, the group employs a vast number of traditional instrumental voices, including steel drums, a metal washboard and simply buzzing on a mouthpiece, seldom heard in contemporary music.

The tracks "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" and "Rough Gem," which stand side-by-side, are among the album's strongest and elicit a euphoric effect in listeners. Although both are reminiscent of The Unicorns because of Thorburn's vocal talents, they distance themselves from their predecessor through the simple instrumentation.

The purely instrumental "Tsuxiit," a masterful collection of both old and new elements, marks the point of a transition between the first four tracks and the rest of the record.

On the latter portion of the album, "Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone" likely will capture the most attention. After the one-minute mark, a pseudo-hip-hop beat is adopted and a rap/reggae battle takes place between rappers Subtitle and Busdriver.

The presence of musical elements on Return to the Sea range from calypso to reggae and allow for a diversity of sound, but because of the vocal elements, they form a cohesive whole for most of the album.

Aside from the awkward presence of "Whalebone," one of the only other faults is the dominating presence of the organ on some of the tracks. But, as a whole, Return to the Sea is an easy and rewarding listen.