Last month, Islands announced that they were returning with their first album in five years, Islomania, later in June. They already shared the album’s dancey lead single “(We Like To) Do It With The Lights On”, and now the indie-rock band led by Nick Thorburn have shared another song from the record called “Set the Fairlight”.
Whereas that previous track had a knowingly goofy club-pop demeanor, “Set the Fairlight” feels a little less winkingly chaotic. It still has a motorik pulse to it that would be best-served in a giddy crowd of concertgoers, but its chipper sound recalls late-aughts bands like Surfer Blood and Wolf Parade more than straight-up disco acts, which “(We Like To) Do It With The Lights On” was clearly pulling from.
Its mesmerizing video features a computer setup in the middle of a barren wasteland, and there all sorts of kooky lighting effects and dizzying angles that make it a worthwhile watch. Check it out below.
“This was the last song made for the album, written and recorded during the pandemic,” Thorburn said in a statement. “I suppose it’s vaguely about the feeling of anxiety and fear brought on by COVID. There’s separation (by a cemetery wall – grim!), isolation and the desire to reach out and touch someone.”
“None of these themes were calculated or labored over, though,” he continued. “Like most of my songwriting, I kind of let the subconscious take the wheel. I find I get to more interesting places when I’m not trying to steer the metaphors.”
Islomania is notably the first Islands release since their pair of 2016 albums, Should I Remain Here, At Sea? and Taste. After those records, the once-prolific Thorburn took a break from making music entirely, only to be sucked back in to making a whole new album once he got the itch.
The record is due out June 11th via Royal Mountain Records and pre-orders are ongoing.
