Arm's Way

Arm's Way
Studio album by Islands
Released May 20, 2008
Genre Indie
Length 68:06
Label ANTI-[1]
Producer Ryan Hadlock and Islands
Islands chronology
Return to the Sea
(2006)		 Arm's Way
(2008)		 Vapours
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Drowned in Sound (9/10)[3]
Pitchfork Media (6.2/10)[4]
PopMatters (6/10)[5]
Rolling Stone [6]
Spin [7]
Tiny Mix Tapes [8]

Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based Indie rock band, Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008 on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008[9]. Nick Thorburn has commented that the album artwork itself resembles a vagina.

Contents

Concept and Production

Drummer Aaron outlined the album's concept and the band's songwriting approach thus:

We took a different approach with this album in that the music is focused on the band members - there are not any special appearances. Arm's was conceived in Montreal, we wrote the songs in a room with old NOFX and Insane Clown Posse posters on the wall. As a band we put the music together and then singer Nick Thorburn wrote the lyrics.[10]

Track listing

  1. "The Arm" - 5:38
  2. "Pieces of You" - 4:06
  3. "J'aime Vous Voir Quitter" - 3:23
  4. "Abominable Snow" - 4:35
  5. "Creeper" - 3:15
  6. "Kids Don't Know Shit" - 5:11
  7. "Life in Jail" - 5:27
  8. "In the Rushes" - 7:00 (contains a portion of "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who)
  9. "We Swim" - 5:06
  10. "To a Bond" - 7:47
  11. "I Feel Evil Creeping In" - 5:31
  12. "Vertigo (If It's a Crime)" - 11:01

The full album is streaming on the band's MySpace page.[11]

Credits

Produced by Ryan Hadlock and Islands
Engineered by Ryan Hadlock
Assistant Engineering by Mathieu Roberge
Mixed by Rob Schnapf and Doug Boehm
Mix Engineer Assistant: Chris Constable
Mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone Songs written by Nick Thorburn
Music arranged by Islands
Drum programming on track 5 by Corn Gangg

Recorded at Mixart in Montreal & Bear Creek in Woodinville, April & May 2007
Mixed at Sonora in LA, September & October 2007
Mastered at Sterling Sound in New York, December 2007

Artwork by Rebecca Bird
Photography by Alexander Wagner
Layout and Title Design by Philip Laslett

References

  1. ^ Islands sign to ANTI-Records, article on Pitchfork Media's website
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ Drowned in Sound review
  4. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  5. ^ PopMatters review
  6. ^ Rolling Stone review
  7. ^ Spin review
  8. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review
  9. ^ Arm's Way leak thread, on The Secret Unicorns Forum
  10. ^ "Islands Interview". FMLY. http://thefmly.blogspot.com/2008/05/islands-interview.html. 
  11. ^ myspace.com/islandsareforever, Islands MySpace page