Sometimes you just need to take a chance. London’s raucous power trio Island of Love certainly learned that for themselves. Upon receiving what the band thought was a fake email inviting them to play the grand opening of Third Man’s The Blue Basement, the group made up of Karim Newble on guitars/vocals, Linus Munch on guitars/vocals and Daniel Giraldo on bass, decided to show up anyway and thankfully for us they did. The record label signed them immediately after their performance and they became the very first band on Third Man Records London.

Their debut self titled album is out May 12th via the venerable label and it does not disappoint. With influences ranging from SST era Dinosaur Jr to Husker Du and the Replacements, the album is a blast from start to finish. Perfectly balanced between crunchy and hooky, Island of Love is most definitely an island anyone would jump at to spend some time on this summer.

“Big Whale” kicks things off appropriately with some huge J Mascis guitar riffs and the kind of perfectly in shambles accompanying rhythm section. While the music is huge and chaotic and so so fun, the star of the show is Newbie’s deft hand at writing intriguing vocal melodies. These are the types of melodic measures that make you want to dig into what the singer is actually singing about instead of just glossing over it all as another piece of the mayhem. “Blues 2000″ is a cascading romp that features the kind of tension filled guitar playing that made every record that Sub Pop put out in the 90s absolutely irresistible. The band isn’t afraid to let the music speak for itself. They like to take their time with these songs and let them sink in. “Blues 2000” has no vocals whatsoever and because the tracks are so intriguing on their own, it isn’t even noticeable until at least the second listen. Island Of Love also aren’t afraid to jump styles from song to song. “Sweet Loaf” is a pretty beautiful ballad until the band kicks in at the last minute but you notice it’s then that the song wasn’t boring at all without them but their appearance helps to elevate the material perfectly.

Island Of Love by Island Of Love is a fun and refreshing record. The band is clearly having a blast playing these songs together and that feeling of abandon absolutely rockets through your speakers. If their live show is anywhere near the excitement of the recorded material then we all have something huge to look forward to as soon as the band comes to a town near us.

order Island Of Love by Island Of Love HERE