Return to the Sea

Return to the Sea
Studio album by Islands
Released 4 April 2006 (2006-04-04)
Genre Indie rock, indie pop
Length 55:45
Label Equator Records
Islands chronology
Return to the Sea
(2006)		 Arm's Way
(2008)
Singles from Return to the Sea
  1. "Rough Gem"
    Released: 10 April 2006 (2006-04-10)

Return to the Sea is the first studio album by Islands. It was released by Equator Records on 4 April 2006.[1] "Rough Gem" was released as a single from the album.[2] The remastered version of the album was released on 11 November 2016.[3][4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
Cokemachineglow80/100[8]
Now3/5[9]
Pitchfork8.4/10[10]
PopMatters[1]
Prefix8.0/10[11]
Stylus MagazineB[12]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "On their debut record, Return to the Sea, Montreal's Islands have crafted a rich, exciting, and emotionally deep sounding album that carries on the freewheeling spirit and sound of the Unicorns as well as that of the Elephant 6 bands of the late '90s."[6] John Motley of Pitchfork gave the album an 8.4 out of 10, calling it "a sprawling, gorgeous collection of pop songs that draws from disparate sources such as calypso, country, and hip-hop."[10]

No Ripchord placed it at number 10 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2006" list.[13]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Swans (Life After Death)"9:31
2."Humans"4:58
3."Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby"2:31
4."Rough Gem"3:36
5."Tsuxiit"3:05
6."Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone"3:56
7."Jogging Gorgeous Summer"2:48
8."Volcanoes"5:26
9."If"4:31
10."Ones"5:40
11."Renaud" (hidden track)16:20/9:38

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Musicians

  • Nick Diamonds – vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), guitar (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), clavinet (2), organ (5, 7, 9), synthesizer (5, 6)
  • J'aime – drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), percussion (3, 4, 7, 8), drum machine (7)
  • Patrice Agbokou – bass guitar (1, 3, 4, 7)
  • Spencer Krug – piano (1), synthesizer (1)
  • Dan Boeckner – guitar (1, 6)
  • Jim Guthrie – guitar (1)
  • Tim Kingsbury – bass guitar (1)
  • Regine Chassagne – accordion (2), piano (2, 5), steel drums (7), recorder (7)
  • Richard Reed Parry – double bass (2, 5, 9, 10), background vocals (6), fiddle (8)
  • Mauricio Lobos – charango (2, 5)
  • Becky Foon – cello (2, 5, 8)
  • Sarah Neufeld – violin (2, 5, 8)
  • Pietro Amato – French horn (2, 10)
  • Frank Lozano – bass clarinet (2, 8, 9), flute (5)
  • Busdriver – vocals (6)
  • Subtitle – vocals (6)
  • Steve McDonald – bass guitar (6)
  • Kaveh Nabatien – cuica (7), trumpet (9)
  • Michael Feuerstack – lap steel guitar (8)

Technical personnel

  • Islands – production, mixing
  • Mark Lawson – production, engineering, mixing
  • Steve Major – mixing assistance
  • Nilesh Patel – mastering
  • Nick Diamonds – string/horn/reed arrangement, layout
  • Richard Reed Perry – string/horn/reed arrangement
  • Sarah Neufeld – string/horn/reed arrangement
  • Pietro Amato – string/horn/reed arrangement
  • Frank Lozano – string/horn/reed arrangement
  • Patrick Francis Guay – layout
  • Caspar David Friedrich – cover painting (The Sea of Ice)

References

  1. 1 2 Raper, Dan (1 June 2006). "Islands: Return to the Sea". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Latest Releases..." Rough Trade Records. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  3. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (5 October 2016). "Islands Announce Return to the Sea Reissue". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Adams, Gregory (5 October 2016). "Islands Treat 'Return to the Sea' to 10th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue". Exclaim!. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Return To The Sea by Islands". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 Sendra, Tim. "Return to the Sea - Islands". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. ↑ Murray, Noel (19 April 2006). "Islands: Return To The Sea". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Amenta, Conrad (6 April 2006). "Islands: Return to the Sea". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Perlich, Tim (2006). "Islands: Return To The Sea". Now. Archived from the original on 13 November 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 Motley, John (5 April 2006). "Islands: Return to the Sea". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Sheppard, Justin (4 April 2006). "Islands: Return to the Sea". Prefix. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Love, Josh (17 April 2006). "Islands - Return to the Sea". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2006 (Part Two)". No Ripchord. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2018.

Further reading

  • Brodsky, Rachel (31 October 2016). "Islands' Nick Thorburn Is No Longer Embarrassed By Return to the Sea". Paste.
  • Hart, Rob (7 December 2016). "How Islands Perfected the Sound of 2000s Indie Rock on 'Return to the Sea'". The New York Observer.
  • Carr, Paul (9 December 2016). "Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone: An Interview with Islands". PopMatters.
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