OUT NOW VIA FRENCHKISS RECORDS
Today, London’s ISLAND have shared a new single entitled “My Brother”, which is out today via Frenchkiss Records.
Following on from their direct and cacophonous recent single “Everyone’s The Same“, the new track perfectly exemplifies the band’s ability to further develop and build upon the dynamics of their shimmering, dulcet indie-pop sensibilities. “My Brother” combines expansive and evocatively effected guitars with atmospheric instrumentation, and a ruminative yet anthemic vocal, which leans into a theme of nostalgia that is at once poignant and sanguine.
Speaking about the new single, the band says, “‘My Brother’ is about wanting the best for someone that’s close to you who needs help, someone that needs to get out and see the world for what it can be, and escape from being stuck doing the same old things in life. It’s a plea for them to make that change, and the happiness that comes when they manage it.
“My Brother”, “Everyone’s The Same”, “Octopus” were recorded in semi-locked-down London last summer with Mikko Gordon (Thom Yorke), their first time working with an outside producer. The result showcases the band experimenting with more complex production as they introduce new textures, instrumentation and recording techniques to expand and further hone in on a sound that has always been unique to ISLAND.
Their recent single “Octopus” marked the band’s first new material since 2019 and has seen them already rack up over 500K streams as well as earning plaudits from a vast array of publications with the likes of Gigwise calling it “a lush, multi-layered indie-pop dreamscape,” and Clash describing it as “A tightly coiled indie pop jammer that conjures a rich sense of atmosphere,” that finds the band “developing in an extremely fresh way.”
“Everyone’s The Same” was the raw follow up to “Octopus”, perfectly highlighting the band’s unique dynamic range and risk taking in their new songwriting process. The single was also accompanied by a surreal and cyclical new video (dir. by Joel Barney), which sees frontman Rollo Doherty leaving his dressing room to join the rest of the band on-stage, before the scene resets and Doherty re-emerges from the dressing room again with him and the band dressed in different guises. The video saw the band receive acclaim from the likes of DIY, The Independent, BBC Radio 1 and more.
ISLAND released their debut album Feels Like Air in 2018. It put them on the map with world-wide critical acclaim racking up millions of plays across Spotify. Their When We’re Still EP came the following year. Before the pandemic hit, ISLAND had firmly established themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting live bands having toured across the US, UK, and Europe including stops at SXSW, Reading Festival, Bastille Sound, Truck Festival and TRNSMT.
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
