Islands: (We Like To) Do It With The Lights On
The song’s playful groove and sunny vibe are enhanced by an entertaining video.
By Kerry Doole
Islands - (We Like To) Do It With The Lights On: (Royal Mountain): Highly-lauded Montreal indie rock band Islands was founded in 2005 by Nick Thorburn and Jamie Thompson, shortly after the breakup of The Unicorns, of which both were members. At the end of 2016, after ten years and seven albums, Thorburn, the only remaining original member, quietly decided to put an end to Islands and retire from music.
Thankfully he has reconsidered, and reunited Islands has now signed to top indie label Royal Mountain (Hollerado, Alvvays, METZ).
A new album, Islomania, will be released on June 11, the group's first release in five years, and, yesterday, a new single and video, (We Like To) Do It With The Lights On, came out.
In a label press release, Thorburn relates the song's origins: "After quitting Islands in 2016, I briefly considered doing writing for others. I came up with the song title as a tossed-off joke. It seemed fitting with the kind of playful innuendo that seems to do well in the pop sphere. Once I started to flesh it out after booting up the band again, I realized it was mine, and for Islands only. I started it with the groove first, and built the melody off the top. This is like most of the songs on this record, which is new for me."
There's a playful groove to the song, and the sunny vibe is enhanced by the entertaining video, directed by Tim Nackashi.
The album came together in spontaneous fashion, after Thorburn reached out to producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) , and asked Islands drummer Adam Halferty and guitarist Geordie Gordon to join him in a recording session at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. “At the time I still wasn’t sure what this new music was going to be, or if coming back to Islands even made any sense,” says Thorburn. “But once we started playing, it quickly became clear this would be the next Islands album."
Later sessions involved producers Patrick Ford (Tanlines, !!!) and Coady, and the group then brought on John Congleton (Sharon Van Etten, St. Vincent) to mix and Joe LaPorta (Vampire Weekend, David Bowie) to master. The high-calibre talent recruited certainly adds to the anticipation around the upcoming album.
Links
Publicity: Hive Mind PR
Manager: Adam "Bix" Berger
J. Cole at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on July 27, 2026. Gabriel Di Sante