Nick Thorburn has announced his ninth album with his long-running project Islands, along with a North American tour. And That's Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs is out on August 25, and the single "Life's a Joke" is out today.
A press release notes that the album is significantly darker than 2021's Islomania, although there's also a playfulness that harkens back to Thorburn's earliest work with the Unicorns. Sessions took place at Thorburn's home in Los Angeles, at Hollywood's Sunset Sound with producer Chris Coady, in Upstate New York with Mike Stroud of Ratatat, and in Los Feliz with Patrick Ford.
"During my time off from Islands, before releasing Islomania, I was finished with rock music, bored of the lyrics I was writing. I was toying with the idea of making — I'm embarrassed to say — beats," Thorburn said in a statement. "I began tinkering at home, and quite quickly compiled a huge folder of instrumentals. I got together with my friend Fat Tony and we made a few songs together. But as things went along, I found myself getting increasingly excited by the possibility of a lyric here or there. At first it was just a hook, and then a verse. Before long, I was sitting on a big pile of Islands songs."
Stream the single "Life's a Joke" below, which conveys morbid nihilism with an ironic, cheeky sense of humour. It comes with a video by Malt Disney.
Also below, scroll past the album tracklist to see Islands' tour schedule, which includes lots of US dates, plus Canadian stops in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
And That's Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs:
1. Life's a Joke
2. And All You Can Do Is Laugh
3. Headlines
4. Superstitious
5. Hard to Argue
6. Pelican
7. Driven Snow
8. Bite My Tongue
9. Violet
10. Too Far Gone
11. Up the Down Staircase
Islands 2023 Tour Dates:
09/12 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09/13 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
09/15 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
09/16 Austin, TX - Empire Control Room
09/17 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
09/19 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09/20 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle Back Room
09/21 Washington, DC - Songbyrd Music House
09/22 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09/23 New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom
09/24 Medford, MA - Deep Cuts
09/25 Portland, ME - SPACE
09/27 Montreal, QC - Pop Montreal
09/28 Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
09/29 Ferndale, MI - Magic Bag
09/30 Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village
10/01 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
10/03 Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
10/04 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
10/05 Boise, ID - The Olympic
10/07 Vancouver, BC - Wise Hall
10/08 Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's
10/09 Portland, OR - The Get Down
10/11 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
10/13 Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
A press release notes that the album is significantly darker than 2021's Islomania, although there's also a playfulness that harkens back to Thorburn's earliest work with the Unicorns. Sessions took place at Thorburn's home in Los Angeles, at Hollywood's Sunset Sound with producer Chris Coady, in Upstate New York with Mike Stroud of Ratatat, and in Los Feliz with Patrick Ford.
"During my time off from Islands, before releasing Islomania, I was finished with rock music, bored of the lyrics I was writing. I was toying with the idea of making — I'm embarrassed to say — beats," Thorburn said in a statement. "I began tinkering at home, and quite quickly compiled a huge folder of instrumentals. I got together with my friend Fat Tony and we made a few songs together. But as things went along, I found myself getting increasingly excited by the possibility of a lyric here or there. At first it was just a hook, and then a verse. Before long, I was sitting on a big pile of Islands songs."
Stream the single "Life's a Joke" below, which conveys morbid nihilism with an ironic, cheeky sense of humour. It comes with a video by Malt Disney.
Also below, scroll past the album tracklist to see Islands' tour schedule, which includes lots of US dates, plus Canadian stops in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
And That's Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs:
1. Life's a Joke
2. And All You Can Do Is Laugh
3. Headlines
4. Superstitious
5. Hard to Argue
6. Pelican
7. Driven Snow
8. Bite My Tongue
9. Violet
10. Too Far Gone
11. Up the Down Staircase
Islands 2023 Tour Dates:
09/12 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09/13 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
09/15 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
09/16 Austin, TX - Empire Control Room
09/17 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
09/19 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09/20 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle Back Room
09/21 Washington, DC - Songbyrd Music House
09/22 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09/23 New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom
09/24 Medford, MA - Deep Cuts
09/25 Portland, ME - SPACE
09/27 Montreal, QC - Pop Montreal
09/28 Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
09/29 Ferndale, MI - Magic Bag
09/30 Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village
10/01 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
10/03 Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
10/04 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
10/05 Boise, ID - The Olympic
10/07 Vancouver, BC - Wise Hall
10/08 Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's
10/09 Portland, OR - The Get Down
10/11 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
10/13 Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
