Sunday, 01 June 2008
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Written by
Matt Fink
Back when Nick Thorburn was a vocalist/guitarist/songwriter in the Unicorns, it was hard to imagine that he’d ever grow up. Barely in his 20s at the time, he seemed more interested in elaborate media pranks than performing and recording, with he and his bandmates getting into staged fistfights, hiring homeless people to join the band for a night, and starting press wars with other bands they knew. When they broke up in late 2004, it seemed like the logical conclusion for a band that was good enough to earn considerable indie buzz but probably not ingenious enough to outlast their reputations as notorious goofs. When Thorburn formed Islands with former Unicorns drummer Jamie Thompson with the stated intention of playing world music, his announcement was met with reasonable indignation and suspicion, dismissed as another likely ruse. But their debut, 2006’s ...
