There was a lot of hubbub about Wolf Parade being in town last week, but another Canadian-born group also made a pass through, Islands. The band, fronted by the charismatic Nick Diamonds (aka Nick Thorburn), played Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night. In fine form, Nick and gang breezed through a gratifying 90-minute set, which despite being stacked with brand new material, had the testosterone-heavy crowd engaged. Nick also broke out the dance moves, which sent the crowd swooning. Islands did throw in a few classics. He was joined by opener Lushlife for rousing rendition of “Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone”, and also performed “Bucky Little Wing”, both off the band’s debut, Return to the Sea. You can watch the performance of latter below, as well as view the show’s setlist.

Quite prolific of late, Islands released not one, but two LPs on May 13, Taste and Should I Remain Here at Sea. Taste, which is being referred to as the group’s 6th record, is a more electronic-driven affair with songs that hint at the band’s “general disenchantment with the modern world.” Should I Remain Here at Sea is much more stripped down and considered to be a spiritual sequel to Return to the Sea. Personally, Should I Remain Here at Sea floats our boat slightly more than Taste. Both albums are available now for purchase at Bandcamp, iTunes (Taste, and Should I Remain at the Sea), and via the band’s Pledge Music page.

In promotion of the releases, Islands recently shared videos for two singles off of Taste, “No Milk, No Sugar” and “The Weekend”, which you can find below. “No Milk, No Sugar” is surreal concoction directed by Thorburn that features his Mister Heavenly bandmate Honus Honus, as well as representatives from the comedy community including Jon Daly, Brent Weinbach, John Early and Kate Berlant. As for the video for “The Weekend”, it was shot on an iPhone on location in Bogotá and Santa Marta, Colombia by Sebastien Grainger (Death From Above 1979).

Islands Spring 2016 North American tour continues with shows in the mid-atlantic, midwest and west coast. All tour dates are listed below.

Islands Setlist for May 21, 2016 at Music Hall of Williamsburg
Charm Offensive
The Joke
No Milk, No Sugar
Fear
Stop Me Now
Right To Be Misbegotten
Creeper
Back Into It
Carried Away
Umbrellas
Can’t Feel My Face
Wave Forms
Snowflake
Bucky Little Wing
Christmas Tree
Hawaii
Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone (with Lushlife)
Hallways
Pumpkin
It’s Heaven
The Weekend

Encore:
At Sea
Rough Gem

Islands Tour Dates
05.24 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
05.25 Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Diner
05.26 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
05.27 Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
05.28 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
06.01 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
06.03 Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
06.04 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
06.05 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
06.07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
06.08 Bakersfield, CA @ Temblor Brewing Company
06.09 Los Angeles, CA @ The Teragram Ballroom
06.10 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
06.11 Las Vegas, NV @ Bunkhouse Saloon