Islands

The Montreal band Islands was born from the ashes of The Unicorns, a college-radio mainstay that effortlessly melded childlike instrumentation with brooding themes and a larger-than-life creation myth. The Unicorns proved a bit too volatile, so frontman Nick Diamonds dissolved the band and formed Islands, taking his old band’s knack for melody and fusing it with rich instrumentation and a structural complexity that never ceases to surprise. In 2011, Diamonds was involved in Mister Heavenly, a “doom-wop” collab with Man Man’s Honus Honus and Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer. Also in 2011, Diamonds saw the dissolution of his relationship, which bears a heavy, conflicting influence on Islands’ new album, A Sleep & A Forgetting: Diamond’s somber, aching voice is backed by the sort of bouncy, straightforward guitar-pop that made Islands’ debut, Return To The Sea, so enjoyable.

Updated 02/14/2012