REVIEW: Islands – A Sleep & A Forgetting

Artists: Islands
Album: A Sleep & A Forgetting
Genre: Indie
Label: Anti

Let’s break this down: there is no rule stating that sneaky backwards masking or computerized singing robot cats have to rest in the background of every song you write. There isn’t always the need to scream in order to break up the silence. Sometimes an album can be simple and successful at the same time. I mean hell, Elliott Smith made an entire career out of bold but whispery heartache. Being honest can be done effectively. But to be fair, this effectiveness might also result in bluntly jamming sharp objects through your chest.

In that vein, A Sleep & A Forgetting, the newest album by Islands, approaches a flawless embrace of just how candid loneliness can be. There is a clear realization that there is no reason to hide when there is nothing to hide behind. Every possible musical road block, distraction, or complication is trimmed away, leaving a wide open path for a quintessential breakup album. It is simple, lonely, and heartbreaking.Though the album absolutely possesses the emotional legs to stand beneath the lights of a Broadway play, it seems to see no reason for a fancy set and stage crew. Instead, the album seems to take more of a somber, opera house approach, allowing the stripped down set of songs to softly rise from the empty stage to the furthest seat from the orchestra pit.

However, as a listener, it is very important that you not overlook this album’s ability to be rather brilliant due to the fact that you’re heavily focused on its choice to remain anonymous and not draw attention to itself. The 11 track album is littered with examples. “Oh Maria” builds beautifully into a swirl of musical emotions, as the song’s storyteller discusses the struggles of death’s harsh realities, the emptiness of losing a partner, and the after effects of no longer having them by your side. “This Is Not a Song” approaches the darkened feelings of having everything yanked away from you and dealing with empty pockets and that empty feeling in your stomach. “Can’t Feel My Face,” while very catchy in a depressing but poppy The Eels kind of way, has vocals that project to the point of piercing the listener’s soul. A Sleep & A Forgetting slams more emotion into a 37 minute session than most therapists manage to schedule into a 40 hour work week. The absolutely irony of releasing an album so apt to tug at the toughest of heart chords on a day like Valentine’s Day is sheer perfection.

As is the album itself.

SCORE: 9/10
Review written by: Josh Hammond (Twitter)

James Shotwell
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