Islands Leave Us Cold

By Kim Bellware in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 13, 2010 6:20PM

Led by former Unicorn Nick Thorburn, the Montreal (and sometimes Brooklyn) based Islands swept into town Monday night at Lincoln Hall, played about 45 minutes with no real warmth or gratitude and then ghosted without so much as a “thank you” or an encore. Um, didn’t they hear? We’ve been dissed enough already.

When the group released their third effort, Vapours, last fall, we were immediately caught by the warm, pseudo-Caribbean flavored beats, grim but brightly sung lyrics and whirring synthesizers backed up against powerfully driven guitar and bass lines. The music was an odd and enjoyable combination of beach-y beats carrying a dark tone, still having enough thumping rhythm to sneak in and out of dance-pop territory.

Having been sold on Islands’ merits, it made the dull effort turned in for Monday’s show that much more of a let down. From a technical standpoint, the band hit all their marks with the music: the drums were steady and dramatic, the synths zippy and atmospheric, the guitars crisp and forceful. Opening with the excellent “Switched On,” a song about Thorburn’s experiences as transplant to New York City, things already sounded awry when the overall effect came through as computerized rather than dreamy, on one of the band’s strongest songs, no less. It may have been an aesthetic choice for the group, who, clad all in pristine white outfits (Thorburn even wore sunglasses inside the dark venue for the beginning) burned through about a dozen songs in their set that all seemed to be precise and clinical, but not affecting; plenty of muscle, absolutely no guts.

A chunk of the songs, including “Tender Torture” and “EOL” filled out the brief set, but lacked any of the charm they had on the album. The audience rallied with enthusiasm, even eagerly filling in the hand claps on “Rough Gem,” grooving with the band, one fan even screaming out “we love you!” during a quiet moment between songs. On the dope-themed “No You Don’t,” Thorburn pulled his hood tightly over his head and asked where to buy drugs, his lame attempt at irony sadly being one of the few words he uttered to the crowd all night.

We understand that some bands come to simply perform rather than banter with and charm their fans. Islands, who showed so much potential from their records, disappointed us with their blasé attitude and soulless performance. When a fan shouted “Play some new shit!” Thorburn’s response was a flip “Well, here’s some old shit.”

Our thoughts, exactly, Nick. And indeed, that shit gets old.