| Arm's Way | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Islands |
| Cover: | Islands - Arm's Way.jpg |
| Released: | May 20, 2008 |
| Recorded: | April–May 2007 |
| Studio: | Bear Creek, Woodinville, WA, and Mixart, Montreal, Canada |
| Genre: | Indie |
| Length: | 68:06 |
| Label: | ANTI-[1] |
| Producer: | Ryan Hadlock and Islands |
| Prev Title: | Return to the Sea |
| Prev Year: | 2006 |
| Next Title: | Vapours |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based indie rock band Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008, on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008.[2]
Drummer Aaron Harris outlined the album's concept and the band's songwriting approach thus:
We took a different approach with this album in that the music is focused on the band members – there are not any special appearances. Arm's was conceived in Montreal, we wrote the songs in a room with old NOFX and Insane Clown Posse posters on the wall. As a band we put the music together and then singer Nick Thorburn wrote the lyrics.[3]
The musical style of Arm's Way represents a departure from the Graceland-inspired sound of debut album Return to the Sea. Rebecca Raber of Pitchfork writes, "Gone are the guest rappers, the acoustic nuevo-country twang, and the sunny Afro-Caribbean flourishes ... In their place are theatrical string arrangements, layers of silvery, minor-key guitars, and lots of gothy synthesizers." Most lyrics include references to death and violence, themes which are shared with frontman Nick Thorburn's previous project The Unicorns.
Adapted from AllMusic.[4]