Earlier this month Islands shared the stage with Psychedelic Furs and Happy Mondays at the Masquerade (read Mixtape's review). The Canadian pop band fronted by Nick Diamonds returns to Atlanta for a special Halloween night show at Lenny's. Mixtape Atlanta recently sat down with Diamonds to chat about his homeland, his hits, and why he wants to make you an omelet.
For all those bands, the defining Canadian bands were bands like Bootsauce and Gemhouse that you’ve never heard of. Maybe you’ve heard of Our Lady Peace. But I don’t personally feel affiliated with those guys. When The Unicorns were coming up in Montreal, we didn’t have a family of bands. We kind of had to forge our own path. And I don’t think we’re defined by our place at all; I think we’re much more insular. That’s not to say that we didn’t prosper from our community; we did.
Vapours is the third Islands album, and before that came The Unicorns’ stuff, and there have been three or four other bands along the way. Are you trying to express different aspects of your music in each one?
It’s just fun. It’s an excuse to make records with people I respect. Human Highway created one of my favorite records ever made. Jim Guthrie is the best singer-songwriter I can think of. His last record, Now More Than Ever, he still hasn’t written a followup, I think because it’s so hard to top and that’s why you do the next record, usually. So our record was just really my excuse to work with him. I don’t want to spread myself too thin, but while I’m fertile creatively, while I’ve got the eggs cooking, I want to make an omelet.
So this new record saw the return to Islands of an old friend. What was it like having Jamie [Thompson] back?
It’s really nice. I feel very blessed to have been able to make all the records I have with all the amazing people I have, and he’s definitely a big part of that. There’s nothing consistent or stable about Islands’ configuration, so when I make a new record I always approach it with some trepidation because it’s an unknown territory we’re entering. I mean, it’s liberating, but it’s also a bit terrifying.
Okay Nick, if you had one track to put on your ultimate mixtape, what would it be?
The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" would have to be on there. But I’d also have to include a Jim Guthrie song, probably "The Problem with Solutions." It would definitely be a sad song. I love sad songs.