"I had a dream, but it was ruined by the sun shining in through me"

From an album described by a band member as having
"some dancehall influences, some calypso... It's more diverse and sprawling and ambitious" , and is "A bit more mature than The Unicorns... More of a Neil Young / Brian Wilson vibe running through it"..

No surprise members of Arcade Fire guest on it..

And that mastermind Nick Diamonds was found reading "Wise  Blood' by Flannery O' Connor
   (a book that is in part, an "unusual case study of heresy and redemption... featuring 'The Church Without Christ'...O'Connor says the lead character 's integrity "lies in his trying with such vigor to get rid of the ragged figure who moves from tree to tree in the back of his mind..but but for me his integrity lies in his not being able to... as a Christian  in spite of himself".) when this interview came out..

...And that the NY Times says of a concert on  the tour behind this album:

'Disaster turns merry in the songs of Islands, a band from Montreal. At the Bowery Ballroom on Monday night, Nick Diamonds sang about car crashes, wild-dog attacks, volcanic eruptions and the aftermath of nuclear war.

But the music bounced along, looking back to upbeat 1960’s folk-rock and psychedelia. Mr. Diamonds usually strummed an acoustic guitar; two violinists sawed away at hoedown riffs or plucked pizzicatos; a keyboardist tootled the sounds of analog synthesizers; a bass clarinet underlined some oompahs. 

The music wasn’t strictly revivalist; one new song veered suddenly into another peppy style, Congolese soukous, with an Afro-Latin beat and gleaming guitar lines. But Islands’ arrangements kept the transparency of 1960’s pop, a world away from power chords or beatboxes, and audience members happily clapped along. The musicians were all dressed in white, as if proclaiming innocence and purity.."
-Link



Band: Islands
Album: "Return to the Sea"
Song:  "Rough Edge"

The song will take on new levels upon realizing the songwriter/singer's last name is Diamonds..


"Rough Edge":
the world beat you for the something nice
you worked hard, died more
you mined what you died for
Diamonds

You can whistle my name
It's the mines, in Africa
That are to blame
You can scoop


out my brain
Shape it into an ear and then tell me your pain

I've been awake from the first day
Stayed awake, stayed awake
The rabbit was removed the whole moon
Long bird, short road

Dig deep but don't dig too deep
When it's late you'll see the hole is empty and oh so deadly
They want me raw and smooth like glass
They want it fast but they don't want flaws
I'm a girl's best friend
Can you cut, I can cut, 'cause I'm a rough gem

Who lives in those lights in the distance?
watered down, the rain will help you out
I had a dream, it was all a dream
but it was ruined by the sun shining in through me
-link