I used to run the music blog Neon Musical Insight, but have since placed focus on freelance writing for outlets such as Impose Magazine, Beats Per Minute (BPM) and others - particularly album reviews. I also work for the music PR company Audible Treats.
For record review consideration, email me here: chinupcheerup1@gmail.com
For possible publicity representation, email me here: chrisb@audibletreats.com
The Opiate of Blame
A Sleep & A Forgetting, the fourth album from Nicholas Thorburn’s most successful outfit Islands, finds the band conquering new territories and offering a previously unexplored level of maturity and first-person storytelling to their songwriting. Not only is Islands’ latest album rather bleak, but it is also the most personal.
Typically known for releasing quirky pop, A Sleep & A Forgetting is anything but. Fittingly set for release on Valentine’s Day, Thorburn said that the album came about after a break up and transition period for himself where he moved from New York to L.A.. Everything from the gloomy artwork to the lyrics cry heartbreak. And while Islands venture into new areas of songwriting, they do so superfluously, reinforcing the fact that it would be a challenging effort for these guys to release an album that is subpar.
On opening track “In A Dream (It Seemed Real),” smooth, jazz-like snappy percussion accompanies twinkling keys on the piano with Thorburn digressing on how even in his dreams he cried, offering a template of emotions for what’s likely to come. But while the majority of the album does in fact deal with heartbreak, the tone of the album, sonically speaking, isn’t terribly overwhelming or completely downtrodden.
