Photo credit: Cole Flynn-Quirke

 


Early praise for Island of Love: 


“[‘Grow’ / ‘Blues 2000’] display a clear love of all things Hüsker Dü/Dinosaur Jr et al while still retaining a youthful vigor and sense of attack.” - The FADER


“‘Grow’ segues from straight-up Dinosaur Jr. worship into a whoa-oh situation that sounds more Malkmus than Mascis. The short, sweet ‘Blues 2000’  steers the sludge feast somewhere closer to the ever-popular grunge/shoegaze mishmash zone while continuing to shred like J.” - Stereogum


"Guitar fireworks are prevalent throughout both of these catchy and interconnected indie rock jams." - Brooklyn Vegan on “Grow” / “Blues 2000”


“A fuzzy, cheery marriage of Dinosaur Jr and Weezer tones that spills into a spacey-but-hooky jam, Grow/Blues 2000 sounds young in a really good way – confident, raw at the edges, and raring to do more.” - Louder


London-based trio Island of Love recently announced their self-titled debut album, out May 12th on Third Man Records London. The band, who put on such an impressive live show that Third Man signed them on-the-spot after seeing them perform live, have already earned early support from the likes of Pitchfork, The Fader, Stereogum, NME, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, Dork, BBC Radio 1 & 6 Music, and more. Today, following the previously released “Grow” / “Blues 2000,” Island of Love share a new single off of the forthcoming album entitled “Fed Rock” - listen and watch HERE.

While “Grow” / “Blues 2000” featured Karim Newble on lead vocals, “Fed Rock” highlights co-frontman Linus Munch on vox, highlighting the way the band seamlessly shares both songwriting, guitar and vocal duties. The track find the band doubling down on the energy brought by the previous tracks, showcasing dueling guitars and the riotous spirit that the band brings to their incredible live shows. And speaking of, the band has a bunch of those coming up. See below to find a show near you in the UK/Europe this Spring, and get your tickets HERE

“We wrote this song about a lot of the bands we were seeing around us when we first started gigging in London. It was one of the first songs written for the album and has always been a highlight of our set, and I think the faster pace of the song reflects the time it was written - the summer when we played our very first shows,” explains Munch. “We were moving from Ben’s studio (Fuzzbrain in London) to small venues for the first time and our set was still heavily weighted on the side of stoned jams like Tall Boots (from 2020 EP 'Promo Tape') and Head Case (from 2022 EP 'Songs of Love'). We all felt this new creeping influence of bands like Thin Lizzy and Ramones which gave Fed Rock a different energy, while having a song in the set that said what we felt about certain bands we played alongside always made playing with them that little bit more bearable. The video was shot around Fuzzbrain with a small group of friends and family on a sunny day in February. The camera is shaky and the narrative is loose, but the spectacle of Dan’s Rambo-style blaze of glory at the mercy of two banana-wielding monkey detectives is alone worth the price of admission.”

In September 2021, Island of Love – Karim Newble on guitars/vocals, Linus Munch on guitars/vocals and Daniel Giraldo on bass –were invited to perform at the grand opening of Third Man’s The Blue Basement. It’s a good thing Island of Love showed up to the gig at all, given that the band didn’t even think the email invitation they received to play was real. That very real and not-spam offer during the band’s cigarette break not only led to their on-the-spot label signing, but to opening slots for Jack White, and now their exhilarating debut. Island of Love is a ferocious and bone-shakingly loud album that marries raw, primal noise led by crunchy guitars with intrinsically melodic sensibilities, and recalls the sound and spirit of peak-era Dinosaur Jr. or Husker Dü. With influences from the band’s start in the London hardcore punk scene and their DIY community roots, the album is elevated by the shared vocal and songwriting duties of Newble and Munch. Produced by Fuzzbrain’s Ben Spence and engineered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor), Island of Love is an album full of songs that pinball back and forth between tones and styles, and make up one of the most refreshing and fun debut albums you’ll hear in 2023. 


Pre-order Island of Love out May 12th via Third Man Records

 

Tracklisting

  1. Big Whale
  2. Fed Rock
  3. Grow
  4. Blues 2000
  5. Sweet Loaf
  6. I've Got The Secret
  7. Losing Streak
  8. Weekend At Clive's
  9. Charles
  10. Never Understand
  11. It Was All OK Forever

 

Tour dates

March 16th - The Lubber Fiend - Newcastle, UK 

March 17th - Delicious Clam - Sheffield, UK

March 18th - Outpost - Liverpool. UK

March 19th - Aatma - Manchester, UK

March 30th - Clermont Fest - Clermont FR

April 13th - VOL - Barcelona, ES

April 14th - Le Ravelin - Toulouse, FR

April 15th  - Chinastraat - Ghent, BE

April 16th - Le Rigoletto - Paris, FR 

April 17th - Music City - Antwerp, BE

April 18th - Vera - Groningen, NL

April 19th - Cineto -  Amsterdam, NL

April 20th - Autobahn - Berlin, DE

April 21st - Ada - Warsaw, PL

April 23rd - Underdogs - Prague, CZ 

April 24th - Venster 99 - Vienna, AT

April 25th - Cafe XXE - Fribourg, CH

April 26th - Monami - Brescia, IT

April 27th - L'Intermediaire - Marseille, FR

May 13th - Rough Trade East - London, UK

 

More on Island of Love:

The members of Island of Love met via the London hardcore punk scene while playing in other bands, such as Newble’s Powerplant, sharing bills with the likes of Chubby and the Gang and High Vis. They booked their own shows, printed their own merch, designed their very distinct artwork, self-released their music and recorded at Fuzzbrain, a studio in East London that’s dedicated to fostering the underground music community by making high-quality studio and rehearsal space accessible to artists at all price points. 

So, when they set about making their debut album for Third Man they wanted to carry over as much of that DIY spirit as possible by continuing their relationship with producer Ben Spence and Fuzzbrain studios. Spence, a fellow working class London kid, has been crucial in fostering a vibrant community and thriving scene around his East London studio by creating a studio with built-in equipment and offering free sessions and rehearsal time for musicians under 25 years-old. That’s how Island of Love were able to record their early demos. Spence, Fuzzbrain, and the community it has spawned, have proven invaluable to them.  “Growing up I couldn't afford equipment,” says Newble. “But Fuzzbrain was this space where you could go to practice and use insane equipment. We never had to bring guitars, pedals or leads. You could just show up and plug in. We would have struggled to be a band without that place.” Giraldo added, “It's very much [Spence’s] record as much as it is ours.”

Island of Love released their debut collection of demos, Promo Tape, in 2020. By the time of 2022’s EP Songs of Love they had solidified even tighter as a unit. “Promo Tape was us trying to learn to write songs individually but Songs of Love was us trying to learn to write songs as a band,” says Newble. But the leap from EP to LP is even bolder and larger. “What we've done on this album is much more of an accurate representation of us and where we're at,” says Giraldo. “The EP sounds good but the difference on the album is huge.” Giraldo is correct. The LP has production that is bright, punchy, crunchy and allows the songs to positively shine. 

For a debut album, and a band so young, there is a great deal of restraint and consideration to be heard. It’s an album that is loud and noisy but also filled with push-pull dynamics that results in moments of tenderness and quiet that then elevates the crunch and power of noisier parts. “The album shows the balance of it being written in bedrooms but being honed in live shows,” says Munch. “It captures a contrast.” And that is perhaps the description that best encapsulates this album. A record that explores duality, balance and contrast; a place where grizzly teeth-rattling noise and explode like fireworks one moment before gliding seamlessly into melody-laced sugary pop hooks and the kind of considered songwriting that truly belies their age. “This album exceeded our expectations,” says Newble. “I’m really proud of it.”

 

Island Of Love are:

Karim Newble - guitars, vocals

Linus Munch - guitars, vocals

Daniel Alvarez Giraldo - bass