Pitchfork

All photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell.

Unicorns-spawned Islands treaded Les Savy Fav territory at Portland, Oregon's Disjecta this past Tuesday, using props to enhance their performance, if only for absurdity's sake. Couple a noose and a mannequin head with Nick Diamonds' mime-like makeup and his penchant for snatching items from audience members and you have a show heavy on band-audience interaction in the middle of general ridiculousness and musical greatness.

The band tossed four new tunes into its set, all of them typical Islands fare-- diverse, danceable pop-- and by far some of their strongest yet. Of the fourteen-song set, the crowd responded most enthusiastically to Return to the Sea's "Rough Gem" and "Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone". And while L.A. emcee Busdriver was onboard to deliver his "Whalebone" verse last time Islands rolled through town, this time opener Subtitle joined the band onstage to recite his part.

Despite a smaller Islands line-up than shows previous, a delayed start time, and the towing of some concert-goers' cars during a changeover, the infectious energy from Islands appeared to conquer all.





Islands' tour with Subtitle and Blueprint continues through Thanksgiving. Dates and additional photos ahead.









Return to the land:

11-10 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
11-11 Pomona, CA - Glasshouse
11-13 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
11-14 Denver, CO - Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom
11-15 Lawrence, MS - Bottleneck
11-16 Oklahoma City, OK - Opolis
11-17 Denton, TX - Hailey's
11-18 Austin, TX - Emo's
11-19 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
11-20 Atlanta, GA - Eyedrum
11-21 Columbus, OH - Little Brother's
11-22 Buffalo, NY - Icon Theater