ISLAND balance both conflict and hope expertly on new single ‘’Waves’’

Analogies drawing comparisons between the one you love and the sun, concerns in which bad weather is equated with negative scenarios, even the opening line runs ‘Those sunny days have been and gone/I worry about the rain, take me away’. Thematically, at least, ISLAND’s latest release, ‘’Waves’’, feels strangely befitting, given that we're seeing the back end of summer. Fully utilising notions of conflict within the elements, ISLAND draw a vivid picture of what it means to hold onto something amid such turbulence.

Marked against a deep sense of desperation, arresting ideas of opposing forces are constructed with real poignancy by the band. Whether it be lead singer Rollo Doherty’s strained vocals against the more subtle, calming instrumentation, or the allusions drawn from its title, which vary from choppy to calm themselves, such an impression lies at the very heart of the track. Not unlike the work of acts such as WU LYF, the overall effect is one of uncertainty, punctuated by the reliance of lines such as ‘Be my sun today’ and ‘You’re sending light rays’. It is such lines however that give the track a human element beyond analogies and comparisons, imbuing it with a sense of hope that resonates more so than any conflict hereto mentioned, and truly capable of calming any storm.

Listen to ''Waves'' below.