Way back in February of last year, Islands were already talking about their followup to A Sleep & A Forgetting, telling us that they had an "extremely dark" record in the works. Now, they've announced their new album.
The record's called Ski Mask and features 11 new tracks from the band. While the release date isn't quite solidified, the record's expected in September via frontman Nick Thorburn's own Manqué imprint.
UPDATE: The album is due out September 17.
In a press release, he revealed the following statements about the new album:
This record is really about being angry. For better or worse, this record kind of sums up my experience thus far with being in a band. I feel like we're kind of at a crossroads and this record is kind of me just declaring forfeiture in some ways. Like the third act of a movie — just after it seems like all hope is lost, that's when the big breakthrough moment happens. For Islands, this is us waiting for the breakthrough moment.
This record is kind of a culmination of all the different things we've done over the years. It's basically a melting pot of all those sounds. So much of this record is about identity—specifically, the quest for finding out your own identity. ... All of these feelings and ideas that have been bubbling up over the course of four previous albums finally came to the surface on this one. This record is like a summation of Islands, everything we've ever done distilled into one record. It's basically an essential introduction to Islands — it's everything we've ever been about.
The cover art with Ski Mask is above, while the tracklisting is available below along with a stream of lead single "Wave Forms."
The group also have a slate of North American tour dates booked, including Canadian stops scheduled in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
Thanks to Pitchfork for the tip.
Ski Mask:
1. Wave Forms
2. Death Drive
3. Becoming the Gunship
4. Nil
5. Sad Middle
6. Hushed Tones
7. Here Here
8. Shotgun Vision
9. Of Corpse
10. We'll Do It So You Don't Have To
11. Winged Beat Drums
Tour dates:
9/18 Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door
9/20 Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
9/21 Vancouver, BC - Media Club
9/22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
9/24 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
9/25 Santa Ana, CA - The Constellation Room
9/26 Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
9/27 San Diego, CA - Casbah
10/8 Boston, MA - Great Scott
10/9 Montreal, QC - Il Motore
10/10 Toronto, ON - The Garrison
10/11 Detroit, MI - The Loving Touch
10/12 Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller
10/13 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
10/14 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10/16 Washington, DC - Empty Bottle
10/17 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10/20 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
The record's called Ski Mask and features 11 new tracks from the band. While the release date isn't quite solidified, the record's expected in September via frontman Nick Thorburn's own Manqué imprint.
UPDATE: The album is due out September 17.
In a press release, he revealed the following statements about the new album:
This record is really about being angry. For better or worse, this record kind of sums up my experience thus far with being in a band. I feel like we're kind of at a crossroads and this record is kind of me just declaring forfeiture in some ways. Like the third act of a movie — just after it seems like all hope is lost, that's when the big breakthrough moment happens. For Islands, this is us waiting for the breakthrough moment.
This record is kind of a culmination of all the different things we've done over the years. It's basically a melting pot of all those sounds. So much of this record is about identity—specifically, the quest for finding out your own identity. ... All of these feelings and ideas that have been bubbling up over the course of four previous albums finally came to the surface on this one. This record is like a summation of Islands, everything we've ever done distilled into one record. It's basically an essential introduction to Islands — it's everything we've ever been about.
The cover art with Ski Mask is above, while the tracklisting is available below along with a stream of lead single "Wave Forms."
The group also have a slate of North American tour dates booked, including Canadian stops scheduled in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
Thanks to Pitchfork for the tip.
Ski Mask:
1. Wave Forms
2. Death Drive
3. Becoming the Gunship
4. Nil
5. Sad Middle
6. Hushed Tones
7. Here Here
8. Shotgun Vision
9. Of Corpse
10. We'll Do It So You Don't Have To
11. Winged Beat Drums
Tour dates:
9/18 Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door
9/20 Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
9/21 Vancouver, BC - Media Club
9/22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
9/24 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
9/25 Santa Ana, CA - The Constellation Room
9/26 Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
9/27 San Diego, CA - Casbah
10/8 Boston, MA - Great Scott
10/9 Montreal, QC - Il Motore
10/10 Toronto, ON - The Garrison
10/11 Detroit, MI - The Loving Touch
10/12 Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller
10/13 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
10/14 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10/16 Washington, DC - Empty Bottle
10/17 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10/20 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom