The world islet refers to a very small island with minimal vegetation and no wildlife. The band Islet is certainly none of these things, being as far away from the word small as you could possibly imagine. Their sound is huge, and it challenges you with something new around every corner, the only problem being that there isn’t much you can say to actually describe Islet’s sound.
Many of the Islet descriptions around the web all seem to head in a similar direction, proclaiming things like “Islet shuns the web” and “They don’t even have a Myspace” and that “They evade all description possible”. While all of these things may or may not be true, it doesn’t necessarily seem to be hurting Islet much at all. Islet hails from Cardiff in the UK, and chances are their music is going to catch you so off guard you won’t know what the hell hit you.
The six track ‘mini-album’ clocks in at just under a half-hour long, and it’s bursting with energy from end to end. The opening track ‘We Shall Visit’ starts off sounding like you’re in the middle of a jungle somewhere participating in a ritualistic ceremony, being huddled around the fire while summoning the gods above you. In other words, it sounds like the music you would hear in a tribal gathering. The use of the tom toms and the click-clack of the rim hits work wonders for that primitive sound, not to mention all the subtle little chants and yelps you can hear in the background. There are even some crazy whistling sound effects that bring the song to an end.
Immediately you’re throw into the next track, the ground shaking ‘Iris’. This track features some noisy guitar work, and strangely enough, they actually manage to work a sort of ‘solo’ into the madness. I’m not sure if that’s what you’d want to call it, but the bass and guitar go at it together and bring the noise full force, all on top of the relentless crash of the cymbal.
The following track ‘One of These Worlds’ is dominated by a pulsating bass line throughout, and it all transforms into this huge, otherworldly jam session at the end, as everybody in the band would probably be going ape-shit on their instruments at this point in the song. The next track ‘Jasmine’ could arguably be one of the more accessible songs on the album. They challenge you to get up out of your seat on this one and dance along to the beat. The singers howl over the mix like a frantic wolf in heat, as they never quite sing in this one. It’s mostly just howls and yelps. Towards the end the tom-toms get a nice beating, making that primal element of their sound come through once again.
‘Holly’ is definitely an intense one, but then again, they all are. A short bit past the halfway mark and you’ll hear some quick tom-toms rolls filled in with the rim shots again. Then the lead singer starts singing “Holly’s in your head, head, Holly’s in your mind,” all why the drumming goes seemingly perfect over the vocals. This is sure to keep you head swaying along with the beat. Last but not least comes ‘Rowan’, in which they actually take a step back on the madness. This one is a bit more laid back and easy going as they finally give you a chance to catch your breath.
Tracklist
We Shall Visit
Iris
One of These Worlds
Jasmine
Holly
Rowan
Rating
9/10
Release Date
June 14th via Shape (Turnstile).
