Search - Microphones :: Song Islands

Its sort of like a tangerine

Adam Trunoske | Mount Clemens, MI United States | 11/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Song Islands is like a tangerine without the tang, its still really good and tasty, but it lacks that wholesome bite, most likely because it came from a slew of 7" singles rather than a straight shot set of recordings. This is still a really good album, but the Glow Pt2 is still better.The highlight of this album is most certainly the track titled "The Moon". Acoustic guitar mixed with heavy, low end piano makes this track complete. Phils sound is excellent. Buy all of these albums."

Will delight

a1 | 04/01/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is earnest, experimental but unaffected noise pop. Lo-fi genius. This album has some old ones, some new ones, and some new versions of old ones. Phil Elvrum's boyishly sweet voice and the spontaneous feel of these tracks makes it sound like a recording of a kid fooling around and banging things in the band hall. Songs by The Microphones often sound like experiments in sound, with an innocent, Modest-Mouse-style voice singing pop melodies to smooth it out."

"No [song] is an island..."

Craig Clarke | New England | 08/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was afraid it would happen, but by this point it was official: I had become a Microphones obsessive. Not just a fan, a fanatic. While perusing the K records website, I found myself wanting everything associated with the Microphones, even non-music stuff like the button, T-shirt, and pennant (sadly, no longer available). Not that this derides the quality of music found on Song Islands (or Island Songs, if you happen to be the proud owner of a Japanese import copy). While definitely not as cohesive as a full-album effort like The Glow, Pt. 2, or even It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water, this collection of various singles released over the years by Elvrum and company is quite charming in its disconnectedness. Unlike the band's albums, this one benefits from "shuffle" play, allowing one to experience each song on its own merits and not as part of a whole. Although, listened to in order (they are arranged chronologically), it allows one to examine the growth and development of one of indie rock's finest performers. The songs on Song Islands range from the campfire singalong "I Can't Believe You Actually Died" to two separate versions of "The Moon" (officially found on The Glow, Pt. 2) to the next rendition in the Glow series, "The Glow Pt. 4." Released primarily as a appetizer for the mother-of-all concept albums, Mt. Eerie, this career-spanning retrospective was more than enough to satisfy this Microphones fan until the full meal arrived."