Islands

Islands Re-Arm On Vapours

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By Erik Leijon (CHARTattack) October 23, 2009 12:02 pm
If the in-your-face album cover featuring frontman Nick Thorburn's mugshot wasn't enough of a clue, Montreal's Islands have once again taken a dramatic step in another musical direction — this time eschewing the elaborate movements of 2008's Arm's Way for sleek and simple pop on Vapours. The group's 2006 Return To The Sea debut contained a lot...
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Islands — Vapours

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By Ian Gormely (CHARTattack) October 16, 2009 2:35 pm
Coming on the heels of Islands' fabulously kooky debut, Return To The Sea, last year's Arm's Way was a dark, depressing disappointment. Many chalked up the turn in mood to the departure of founding Islander and former Unicorns member Jamie Thompson (a.k.a. J'aime Tambeur). Thankfully, Vapours, the Montreal band's third record, offers both the...
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Islands' Vapours

Islands — Arm's Way

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By Noah Love (CHARTattack) May 20, 2008 11:23 am
Now this is more like it. Arm's Way is a beacon of light for those who hoped Return To The Sea would be the logical, exciting follow-up to The Unicorns' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? and went home disappointed. Islands debut featured a few memorable cuts, but it was basically half-record, half-meandering filler. Arm's Way is so jam-packed...
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Arm's Way

Old Islands Mostly Dead, Long Live The New Islands

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By Erik Leijon (CHARTattack) February 19, 2008 4:00 pm
Watching Islands frontman Nick Thorburn, not unlike famed wrestler Sting with his white-painted face and sweat-drenched brown hair, perform another expansive epic from the group's upcoming sophomore disc makes for two distinct possibilities concerning the future of Islands: either he's gone completely over the deep end and the band have been...
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Islands

Islands And Architecture In Helsinki Heat Up Long Weekend

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By Noah Love (CHARTattack) May 23, 2006 4:00 pm
There's little more disappointing than finding out that two of the best acts on your five-act bill have somehow not made it past border officials in the U.S. — especially when both are Canadian (long story). This was the case on Friday night as Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes were trapped in Chicago and, thus, unable to perform as a part of the...
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Architecture In Helsinki (Photo by Rene Vaile)

Islands — Return To The Sea

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By Noah Love (CHARTattack) April 4, 2006 11:46 am
The premature breakup of The Unicorns was one of the most disappointing in recent music history, but without it we wouldn't have Return To The Sea, a record with boundless ambition and stunning musicianship. Manchild Nick Diamonds and drummer J'aime Tambeur waste no time making an impact with opener "Swans (Life After Death)," a...
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Return To The Sea

LISTEN: The new album from Islands “A Sleep & A Forgetting”

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By Jordan Darville (CHARTattack) February 8, 2012 1:43 pm
Breakups are fertile ground for growing classic albums, so when Nick Thorburn was unwittingly planted in the ground by a split last Valentine’s Day, it took a year for that seed to blossom into A Sleep & A Forgetting, the new album from Islands, which you can listen to below. Is the album a sturdy oak of timeless songs, or a flimsy weed...
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MP3 Roundup: New music from Electric Guest, Oberhofer, Islands, and Ben Kweller

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) January 20, 2012 10:20 am
Electric Guest - “This Head I Hold" With a debut produced by Danger Mouse and touting catchiness up the wazoo, Electric Guest is already at an advantage. “This Head I Hold,” the first single off of their forthcoming debut Mondo, is infectiously catchy and upbeat, infused with soulful vocals, a funk bass line, and handclaps that propel the...
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WATCH: Islands - "This Is Not A Song" official music video

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By Dan Busheikin (CHARTattack) December 6, 2011 1:57 pm
"This Is Not A Song" is in fact a song. Consequently, it now has a music video.Below you can watch the appropriately classy clip for Islands' new single from their forthcoming album A Sleep and A Forgetting. The orchestral ballad is a step away from Islands' quirky pop, but shows a musical maturity that I'm looking forward to seeing fleshed out on...
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MP3 Roundup: Islands, Sad Baby Wolf (ex-shins), of Montreal

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) December 5, 2011 3:45 pm
1) Islands - "This Is Not A Song" "This Is Not A Song" is not a song from Islands' forthcoming LP, A Sleep and A Forgetting. It's not a subdued breakup tune, and doesn't make direct reference to songwriter (and Canadian indie music veteran) Nick "Diamonds" Thorburn. Psyche! Expect more tales of love and heartbreak when the record drops on St....
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WATCH: Mister Heavenly "Bronx Sniper" official music video

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By Kate Killet (CHARTattack) November 5, 2011 1:08 pm
Indie supergroup Mister Heavenly is comprised of Honus Honus (of experimental rock outfit Man Man), Nicholas Thorburn (of defunct Canadian indie-pop groups Islands and The Unicorns), Joe Plummer (of Modest Mouse and The Shins), and sometimes actor/bassist Michael Cera too. The music video for their reckless rock song  "Bronx Sniper"...
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Song Of The Day: Mister Heavenly's "Bronx Sniper"

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) July 22, 2011 2:51 pm
In case you forgot, Mister Heavenly is the collaboration between Islands' Nick Thorburn, Man Man's Honus Honus and Modest Mouse's Joe Plummer (no, not Joe The Plumber). "Bronx Sniper" is the opening track to their Out Of Love debut album, which comes out Aug. 16. It definitely sounds like a combination of all three bands, though the beat and weird...
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Mister Heavenly

I Read The News Today... For July 11, 2011

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) July 11, 2011 4:10 pm
Arctic Monkeys are heading on a North American fall tour in support of their recently released Suck It And See album. It takes place from September to November and four Canadian dates are on the itinerary. Gallows vocalist Frank Carter is leaving the band when their current tour is done. He's just launched a new project called Pure Love, and the...
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Arctic Monkeys

I Read The News Today... For June 3, 2011

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) June 3, 2011 3:09 pm
Thrice are returning with a new record dubbed Major/Minor on Sept. 20. It's described as "entirely different" than their last album, which is a relief because if a band literally released the same record over and over again, that'd be kind of, you know, awkward. Angry at mom and dad? Got a lot of xxxaggro bullshitxxx to take out on people you'll...
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Thrice

Together At Last: Man Man + Islands + Modest Mouse = Mister Heavenly

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By CHARTattack Staff (CHARTattack) November 30, 2010 1:04 pm
Some of you might remember that Man Man frontman Honus Honus and Islands' Nick Thorburn were working on some kind of collaborative project late last year. It turns out Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer (no, not this guy) got in on this, too. The band are called Mister Heavenly, and they've just signed to Sub Pop. Their as-yet-untitled debut album...
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Mister Heavenly (Photo by Johnny Le)

I Read The News Today... For July 15, 2010

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By CHARTattack Staff July 15, 2010 12:10 pm
Amy Winehouse's album will reportedly be out by January at the latest. Hey, have you also heard I'm the Queen Of England?! —Metro Rush have released an iPhone and iPod Touch application. It'll cost you a mere $2.99 U.S. ($3.11 Canadian) —Blabbermouth We Were So Turned On, a David Bowie tribute album featuring A Place To...
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Amy Winehouse

I Read The News Today... For April 30, 2010

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By CHARTattack Staff April 30, 2010 12:54 pm
D-Sisive's Vaudeville is out June 15. —Twitter Magneta Lane touring Canada in May. —MySpace The lineup for Rock N' Rev, part of Sturgis, S.D.'s biker rally, is like a complete and total nightmare dream come true: Stone Temple Pilots, Creed, Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, Wolfmother, Hinder... —Blabbermouth Concrete Blonde are touring this summer in...
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Islands European Tour Cancelled

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By Kate Harper (CHARTattack) February 17, 2010 1:28 pm
If you're European and were hoping to see Nick Thorburn on stage in some kind of sparkly, sequin-covered costume performing Islands songs, bad news: the band's European dates have been cancelled. Islands' European jaunt, which was to begin March 2 and run until later that month, has been put off for now because of "unforeseen circumstances,...
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Islands' Nick Thorburn (Photo by Aliya Naumoff)

Michael Cera Appears In Islands Video, Gets Jersey Shore Makeover

Submitted by Kate Harper on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 12:52pm
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By Kate Harper (CHARTattack) January 5, 2010 12:52 pm
Actor Michael Cera (Juno, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist) guests in Islands' new video for Vapours' "No You Don't." He plays a pill-popping indie kid who trips out while wandering through the suburbs (or at least what looks like the suburbs). You can see the video in our media section. Cera also recently appeared on MTV's Jersey...
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Islands Featuring Michael Cera — "No You Don't"

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By CHARTattack Staff January 5, 2010 11:53 am
Actor Michael Cera (Juno, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist) walks along some railroad tracks and hops a fence before popping some pills that make him feel funny, see weird stuff and make his face all itchy in the video for Islands' "No You Don't." Way to represent the 'peg on the back of your jacket there, Mikey. "No You Don't...
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