<p>Behold, the sophmore effort <cite>Arm’s Way</cite> from the Canadian-based Islands. Two years after their landmark <cite>Return to the Sea</cite> album, Islands sound as fresh as ever, a small wonder considering the loss of founding member Jaime Thompson. With <strong>Nick Diamonds</strong> in full control, <cite>Arm’s Way” leans more towards the output of his previous band the Unicorns than anything else. While ??Return to the Sea</cite> was littered with jagged pop tunes echoing <strong>Beck</strong>, <cite>Arm’s Way</cite> is packed full with complete song structures and a more mature sound. Standouts range from the sweetly harmonic “Pieces of You” to the dark dance pop of “Creeper.” Additionally, as with most great albums <cite>Arm’s Way</cite> ends strong with the beautiful “To a Bond” and finally closing with the haunting “Vertigo.” One of the most endearing surprises of <cite>Arm’s Way</cite> is the strings that flow throughout the span of the album. The maturity in sound brings to mind the leap <strong>Mercury Rev</strong> made over the course of their most recent efforts. With this new record Islands not only prove their previous record was no fluke but that they are a band capable of moving forward with their sound while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. (Christopher)</p>2008-05-17T16:23:21-04:00islands-arms-way2062112Music2008-05-17T16:23:21-04:00Islands: Arm's Way2008-05-21T13:27:39-04:00Anti
Behold, the sophmore effort ??Arm's Way?? from the Canadian-based Islands. Two years after their landmark ??Return to the Sea?? album, Islands sound as fresh as ever, a small wonder considering the loss of founding member Jaime Thompson. With *Nick Diamonds* in full control, ??Arm's Way" leans more towards the output of his previous band the Unicorns than anything else. While ??Return to the Sea?? was littered with jagged pop tunes echoing *Beck*, ??Arm's Way?? is packed full with complete song structures and a more mature sound. Standouts range from the sweetly harmonic "Pieces of You" to the dark dance pop of "Creeper." Additionally, as with most great albums ??Arm's Way?? ends strong with the beautiful "To a Bond" and finally closing with the haunting "Vertigo." One of the most endearing surprises of ??Arm's Way?? is the strings that flow throughout the span of the album. The maturity in sound brings to mind the leap *Mercury Rev* made over the course of their most recent efforts. With this new record Islands not only prove their previous record was no fluke but that they are a band capable of moving forward with their sound while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. (Christopher)
14.992008-05-17T16:23:21-04:00manual234523112deny1CD112.992062112truetrueCD2008-05-21T13:27:39-04:002008-05-17T16:23:21-04:004062692120621122008-05-21T13:27:39-04:00http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/4544/products/islands_1.jpg?1268275979