Jim Guthrie and Islands' Nick Thorburn Form Human Highway

BY Cam LindsayPublished Apr 23, 2008

After spending some time playing in post-Unicorns band Islands, the much loved Jim Guthrie has announced his next project will be, well, with Islands main man Nick Thorburn. Under the name Human Highway, the duo have teamed up for a new album titled Moody Motorcycle, which is set for release via Secret City here in Canada and Suicide Squeeze in the U.S. on August 19.

The project came to be while the two were traveling together on the road. "For me, Human Highway started in a hotel room on a U.S. tour with Islands,” Guthrie said in a statement. "Nick had this rad song called 'My Beach' and asked me if I wanted to help him record it. He played and sang at the same time and let me be for a bit to do harmonies.”

From the sounds of things, the harmonies seem to be the nucleus of the album, with Guthrie describing Moody Motorcycle more like a romance. "Beautiful harmonies like the ones you’ll hear on this record can only be achieved when you look directly into the other person’s eyes as you sing. It also helps to slip into something ‘more comfortable’ and light candles,” he added.

As for what the album will sound like, Guthrie points to a direction shared by both men. "I think this album works because Nick and I both share a love for oldies,” he explained, citing the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and the Kinks as influences for the album. "We both really like the show ‘Scare Tactics’. It’s a new genre called ‘Golden Moldy Indie Oldies’. It’s AM radio rock for the babies of the future past.”

But before Human Highway takes off, Thorburn has a new album with his other band, Islands, who've just signed to Anti- for their new album, Arm's Way, which drops on May 20.

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