You will love it.  Full text...

Return to the Sea is a case of Diamonds and Tambeur yanking up their anchor and setting sail for new waters, enjoying the freedoms of exploration and discovery.  Full text...

Return to the Sea is a huge step up from their previous work in both scope and maturity.  Full text...

The overarching motif of Return is thus Diamonds' and drummer J'aime's chameleonic rebirth into a more self-aware and scene-savvy band, whose music is smarter, more interesting, and ultimately more rewarding.  Full text...

On their debut record, Return to the Sea, Montreal's Islands have crafted a rich, exciting, and emotionally deep sounding album that carries on the freewheeling spirit and sound of the Unicorns as well as that of the Elephant 6 bands of the late '90s.  Full text...

The arrangements are perfect and the songs upbeat, but Diamonds incongruously never sounds like he’s having any fun. As a result, the album becomes like a bad Elephant 6 record: something poppy but plodding that a bunch of people will still unconditionally love.  Full text...