Review: Islands - Vapours (* * * 1/2)

Nicholas Thorburn – or Nick Diamonds if you prefer his stage name – seems to have been gifted with an inability to recognize his own limitations or boundaries, a curse as well as a blessing, but probably more often the latter when it comes to making great pop music. He never stays in one place for long, resulting in an involvement in numerous, varied and often significant musical endeavors, only one of which has lasted more than an album or so. His first group, The Unicorns, only released one true LP (the spectacular Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?), his hip-hop side project Th’ Corn Gangg never cut a record at all and his folk rock collaboration with Jim Guthrie, Human Highway, seems to have been put indefinitely on hold after a debut album and some touring. The one exception to this career of short-lived projects, of course, is Islands, who recently released their third effort, Vapours. (Continue Reading...)

MySpace