{"id":268839,"date":"2021-04-16T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T04:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/?p=213034"},"modified":"2024-01-25T00:00:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:00:55","slug":"low-island-makes-an-auspicious-but-as-yet-unambitious-debut-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvobsessive.com\/2021\/04\/16\/low-island-makes-an-auspicious-but-as-yet-unambitious-debut-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Low Island Makes An Auspicious But as Yet Unambitious Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the UK rock acts that seems most poised for a breakthrough are Oxford based indie sophisti-pop act Low Island. The quartet have established some credibility through some EPs and successful singles and have now matured to debut studio album mode, with their first full-length LP If You Could Have It All Again<\/em> recorded and released independently through the band\u2019s own label Emotional Interference. Some of the band\u2019s most successful singles \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Light It\u201d and \u201cWho\u2019s Having the Greatest Time?\u201d feature on this record, which offers a gratifying combination of funky, retro synth rock.<\/p>\n If You Could Have It All Again<\/em> is an extremely dynamic record, particularly on its very diverse first leg, presenting a cocktail of influences from \u201880s post punk to \u201800s post rock. The album does eventually settle into itself after \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Light In (Reprise)\u201d with the album\u2019s textures levelling out into a mixture of funky basslines with expressive, dramatic vocals. The production steals the show throughout with Felix Higginbottom\u2019s pristine drums and thick elastic basslines and watery synth tones from Jacob Lively, arranged with precision and scale by producer Jamie Jay. Even the vocals from Carlos Posada ring proud as a bell despite their fragility and treatment. There is a degree to which the songwriting still feels immature though, with many songs feeling rather too predictable and not cutting to the bone with their melodies or lyrics.<\/p>\n The album opens with \u201cHey man\u201d, beginning with a repetitive bleeping synth chord refrain that builds to a strident climax punctuated by sporadic rattling drums, with Carlos Posada\u2019s fragile falsetto vocals creating an airy elegiac atmosphere that makes a tasty contrast with the rigid snapping percussion. Eventually the two meet in the middle as the song builds to a huge, cacophonous climax that sadly ends abruptly, sacrificing a solid transition into the next track \u201cWhat Do You Stand For?\u201d, which offers a huge contrast.<\/p>\n This track has more of a punk edge than anything else on the record, featuring mixed fidelity recording with extremely clean drums but muffled vocals and grimy bass riffs. Something about the conscious lyrics and the treatment of the vocals when combined with the hard-edged riffs gives this song an almost Idles<\/a> quality. Their wry approach to the lyrical themes and songwriting is more reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem though, sounding almost like a more surface level version of something one might hear on This is Happening. It\u2019s certainly the hardest rocker on the album with politically charged lyrics condemning shallow and performative engagement with activism. Nowhere on the album though are the vagaries of the track cleared up, making the song feel more inwardly directed as a commentary on the groups own insecurities about failing to commit to as essential a part in world progress as we often feel we ought. I\u2019m always on the look out for a version of Idles without lyrics that make my toes curl, and though this doesn\u2019t quite fit the bill, it is still a jazzy, melodic piece of noisy punk music. It certainly feels like a refreshing outlier on the track list but Low Island make a surprisingly credible fist of the genre.<\/p>\n The following cut is the group’s most successful single to date, \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Light In\u201d, a synth-heavy \u201880s-styled chamber rock piece with a surefooted, glimmering bass groove that\u2019s shockingly danceable, with gleaming yellow chords intruding into its purplish haze. The track sounds not unlike the recent solo material of Hayley Williams<\/a>, with a smooth and pristine take on an almost house inflected rock sound. Low Island are taking their cue from In Rainbows-<\/em>era Radiohead<\/a> (which is the best era of Radiohead and don\u2019t let anyone tell you different) but like Williams<\/a>, their take on the sound is more accessible and groovier than Radiohead ever were. The single here comes with a part two in the form of a stripped acoustic reprise; Posada\u2019s falsetto is still drenched to the bone in reverb though, making an odd contrast to the spartan instrumentation.<\/p>\n