Islands @ Market Hotel 11/8 (more by Leia Jospe)

Islands and Amusement Parks On Fire are the two bands that'll split opening duties on the Happy Mondays/The Psychedelic Furs co-headlining tour this fall. Islands will take the tour's second half, which includes its NYC stop on Friday, October 9th at Roseland Ballroom. Tickets for that are on sale now.

Islands will be supporting their new record, Vapours, which comes out September 22nd on Anti- (who are releasing the first album by Rain Machine on the same day). That Islands album marks the return of Nick Diamonds' Unicorns bandmate Jamie Thompson (who has also been in Islands before). Their label writes...

Nick Diamonds' polymorphous pop band, Islands, is back with their third studio album, Vapours. The 2006 debut, Return to the Sea, found eccentric and mellifluous pop tunes performed with a cast of characters from Montreal's thriving music scene (including members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade), helmed by Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson. Thompson departed amicably from the group shortly after the album was released, and 2007's Arm's Way found the band turning in a new direction towards lushly orchestrated, guitar-driven prog-rock. Thompson has returned to the band for Vapours, a record that flits back and forth between moody synthesizers and drum-machine-heavy beats, while remaining firmly rooted in the classic pop sensibilities and multitude of melodic hooks that Islands is known for.

Produced by Nick Diamonds and Chris Coady (who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead, TV On The Radio, among others), this is the group's most stunning work to date.

As an aside, Nick recently tweeted from the first Williamsburg Waterfront show on Sunday, July 13th. The verdict: "Nice skyline."

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Islands (new album soon) & Amusement Parks On Fire touring w/ Happy Mondays & Psychedelic Furs (dates)"