Return to the Sea explained

Return to the Sea
Type:	studio
Artist:	Islands
Cover:	IslandsReturnToTheSea.jpg
Genre:	Indie rock, indie pop
Label:	Equator Records
Producer:	Islands • Mark Lawson
Next Title:	Arm's Way
Next Year:	2008

Return to the Sea is the first studio album by Islands. It was released by Equator Records on 4 April 2006. "Rough Gem" was released as a single from the album.^[1] The remastered version of the album was released on 11 November 2016.^{[2] [3]}

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Tim Sendra of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "On their debut record, Return to the Sea, Montreal's Islands have crafted a rich, exciting, and emotionally deep sounding album that carries on the freewheeling spirit and sound of the Unicorns as well as that of the Elephant 6 bands of the late '90s." John Motley of Pitchfork gave the album an 8.4 out of 10, calling it "a sprawling, gorgeous collection of pop songs that draws from disparate sources such as calypso, country, and hip-hop."

No Ripchord placed it at number 10 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2006" list.^[4]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Musicians

• Nick Diamonds – vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), guitar (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), clavinet (2), organ (5, 7, 9), synthesizer (5, 6)
• J'aime Tambeur – drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), percussion (3, 4, 7, 8), drum machine (7)
• Patrice Agbokou – bass guitar (1, 3, 4, 7)
• Spencer Krug – piano (1), synthesizer (1)
• Dan Boeckner – guitar (1, 6)
• Jim Guthrie – guitar (1)
• Tim Kingsbury – bass guitar (1)
• Regine Chassagne – accordion (2), piano (2, 5), steel drums (7), recorder (7)
• Richard Reed Parry – double bass (2, 5, 9, 10), background vocals (6), fiddle (8)
• Mauricio Lobos – charango (2, 5)
• Becky Foon – cello (2, 5, 8)
• Sarah Neufeld – violin (2, 5, 8)
• Pietro Amato – French horn (2, 10)
• Frank Lozano – bass clarinet (2, 8, 9), flute (5)
• Busdriver – vocals (6)
• Subtitle – vocals (6)
• Steve McDonald – bass guitar (6)
• Kaveh Nabatien – cuica (7), trumpet (9)
• Michael Feuerstack – lap steel guitar (8)

Technical personnel

• Islands – production, mixing
• Mark Lawson – production, engineering, mixing
• Steve Major – mixing assistance
• Nilesh Patel – mastering
• Nick Diamonds – string/horn/reed arrangement, layout
• Jamie Thompson - reed arrangement
• Richard Reed Parry – string/horn/reed arrangement
• Sarah Neufeld – string/horn/reed arrangement
• Pietro Amato – string/horn/reed arrangement
• Frank Lozano – string/horn/reed arrangement
• Patrick Francis Guay – layout
• Caspar David Friedrich – cover painting (The Sea of Ice)

Further reading

• Web site: Islands' Nick Thorburn Is No Longer Embarrassed By Return to the Sea. Paste. Rachel. Brodsky. 31 October 2016.
• Web site: How Islands Perfected the Sound of 2000s Indie Rock on 'Return to the Sea'. The New York Observer. Rob. Hart. 7 December 2016.
• Web site: Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone: An Interview with Islands. PopMatters. Paul. Carr. 9 December 2016.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Latest Releases.... Rough Trade Records. https://web.archive.org/web/20060506111107/http://www.roughtraderecords.com. 6 May 2006. 5 October 2018.
2. Web site: Islands Announce Return to the Sea Reissue. Pitchfork. Kevin. Lozano. 5 October 2016. 5 October 2018.
3. Web site: Islands Treat 'Return to the Sea' to 10th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue. Exclaim!. Gregory. Adams. 5 October 2016. 5 October 2018.
4. Web site: Top 50 Albums of 2006 (Part Two). No Ripchord. 18 December 2006. 5 October 2018.