The Isles latest album is entitled Troikabut the band isn't actually Russian. Their sound harkens back to 80's British pop but the band isn't from Britain. No, The Isles are actually from the state that just keeps producing ridiculous amounts of uber cool bands...New York. Confused like they are? It doesn't matter, trust me.
Geography aside, the first thing you notice about Troikais just how stuck in the past it really is. I don't mean that as a bad thing, but this is clearly a band and an album that just wasn't born for these times. Rather than embracing banks and banks of PC's and synths and making electro bangers, The Isles sound like they've been listening to the Orange Juice discography on repeat for the last 20 years. The Isles are so in love with the classic sound of 80's British indie and are so influenced by it you'd swear Edwyn Collins was a member.
Despite fawning over it's influences a little to much, Troika,actually still manages to be a brilliant pop album. The Isles have packed this record with loads upon loads of jangly tunes that sound as bouncy and self-depricating as you might expect from a band in love with British indie. "Fall of the Favorite," illustrates this perfectly as buried between all the smiley happy riffs is a song that's really not to high on itself. It's fantastic and dramatic stuff that will have you digging for your old Edwyn Collins records and scuffing up your Doc Martens.
Sweet and tender while being uplifting and fun, Troikais the sincerest form of flattery you are likely to hear in 2009. While the 80's revival continues to push on, it's ashame that those who think that era was all about hypercolor and synthpop have left classics in the making like this off the hot list. The Isles have written a masterful pop record that's only come out 20 years too late. Irregardless of that, this is got to be one of the best indie pop records of the year...in other words, this record is more essential than food.
No comments:
Post a Comment