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(The CD Reviewer.com)
Label: Anti - Rating:
Being a reviewer you sometimes have to be able to overcome your own personal musical prejudices in order to be able to give each album that you review a fair shake. And that's exactly what I had to do when I got the assignment to review Islands new release, Vapours. This album falls into the electronica-pop category of music, a style that's not at the top of my favorite’s list. That being said I can appreciate the inventiveness that's often found in this style of music.
Vapours is the third studio album (Return to the Sea (2006), Arm's Way (2007)) from this Canadian band. After a short departure on their second release into a guitar-driven, progressive rock sound, for the new album, the group comes back home with their more familiar-sounding style of pop music that's filled with electronic elements.
Nick Diamonds (songwriter/vocalist) is the main man behind the group along with Jamie Thompson, who left the group for their second release, but is back onboard for Vapours. The album was co-produced by Diamonds along with Chris Coady (the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead).
The first thing that stuck out to me as I listened to the songs found on this release was the falsetto vocals of Nick Diamonds. With his vocals being so high pitched they give the songs a whimsical edge that works for the most part and add an unintended lightness to a few of the songs.
While listening to the songs, I felt like I got the meanings behind most of them but I must admit that one or two went right over the top of my head. For the most part the songs deal with both lighter and heavier subjects, dealing with issues ranging from love and relationships to drug use, and while the songs are built on a foundation of pop music through the use of the added electronic elements, I could also hear some psychedelic, Indian (thanks to the electric sitar), and retro rock musical sounds.
Unlike the band's last album that got bloated with tons of instrumentation and effects, Vapours is more of a stripped-down sound, using only synths to set the mood, along with programmed sounds, tons of drum machine's beats, guitars, and a human bass.
Another thing that surprised me about this release was the length of the songs. I was expecting longer and richer tracks, running 5-6 minutes or more. Instead the longest track, "On Foreigner," has a running time of only 4:49. Several of the songs even fell into the short 2 minutes plus range, "Vapours" (2:41), “Devout" (2:30), and "The Drums" (2:47). While sometimes short and sweet can be nice, some songs did seem a little bit rushed.
The two tracks that I enjoyed most were, "Disarming the Car Bomb," that offers up a nice story and interesting arrangement and "The Drums," that included some interesting drum machine beats.
While Vapours does offer up a few high points with its music, there are just too many things that didn't work for me to give it a higher rating.
Like Islands? Check out: Vampire Weekend, Joy Electric
