Switched on.

Last week I hastily put together the briefest of post on the new LP by Montreal’s Islands, and promised to come back to it with greater analysis this week.  Let’s just say I’m keeping at least half my promise:  this is a post dedicated to Vapours, their third album, but how deep the analysis actually goes is another matter all together.

I blame Nick Thorburn (or Nick Diamonds, depending on what day of the week it is and what press release you happen to be reading) for this scratch-the-surface review.  The man bounces between bands and band mates like a rubber ball, so keeping track of who he’s being or what band he’s being in is difficult.  Add to that the total reinvention that’s taken place on Vapours:  gone is the heavy-handed, epic sound of Arm’s Way and in comes a sleek synth pop record that bares little resemblance to its predecessor.  That being said, it’s a pretty great sounding synth pop album.  Thorburn/Diamonds said on another site which shall remain nameless that after the sensory overload of Arm’s Way, he felt he need to take a step back and make an album that withdraw from that full-blown sonic assault.

What has remained is his his instinctual ability to write great songs with what appears to be minimal effort.  He’s joined on the record by Jamie Thompson, an original member of the Islands line-up who wasn’t on the last LP (he also used to play with Thorburn is his previous band, The Unicorns) and a pair of new recruits:  brothers Evan and Geordie Gordon (from the band The Magic).  This sleek four-piece will make the rounds in support of Vapours throughout October and November (see Myspace for tour dates and locales).

MP3: Islands “Vapours”
Myspace: Islands
Twitter: Islands (Nick Diamonds)

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