I had a chat with Islands' frontman Nick Thorburn prior to their show at The El Rey in June. Their new record Arm's Way was recently released and it is a definite departure from their previous album. This may be in part to main collaborator (and fellow ex-Unicorn) Jamie Thompson's decision to leave the band, but the mellow calypso-pop numbers of Return to the Sea are gone and have been replaced with an interesting amalgam of darker, minor-key numbers that are still poppy but have a strangely ominous take to them. It's a more rocking album for sure that has alienated fans who expected the band to remain on the same trajectory. After speaking with Nick, I found it to be no surprise that he felt the band should change directions. He doesn't seem to be one who panders to convention. From reading prior interviews with him, I was given the impression that he was distant, coy, and difficult to deal with. In fact, I found him to be quite engaging, refreshingly frank, and articulate. The conversation was as follows...

I saw you guys play for the first time at Coachella. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was a great set. What did you think of that performance?

Nick: Well, festival shows are tough because you don't get to nurture the experience or...massage any technical difficulties that may arrive. When you're playing at a festival you don't get a soundcheck. It was a beautiful place, though, I was surprised. I had never been there before.

Did you manage to see other bands play?

Nick: A little bit. We saw labelmates Man Man play. And Portishead. Saw moments of Prince. It was all sort of stitched together with other obligations or social participations.

Do you like doing interviews?

Nick: No.

Not at all?

Nick: Um, I have a tough time putting words into sentences that...are coherent.

Well, you seem articulate enough. All you really need are phrases anyway.

Nick: laughs

Before you wrote Arm's Way, was there something specific that you were trying to do with it? Was there a concise direction?

Nick: There was. The conception of the song ‘The Arm' was sort of the turning point for the whole record. The song sort of came out of me at this unexpected moment and it changed the direction of the album.

What direction was that?

Nick: A patient....drawn out, minor key, uh, experience where you're left with less of a feeling of immediate satisfaction than you are with a desire to revisit the song again

That's funny, I've heard you say before in previous interviews that you have a strong interest with writing ‘the perfect pop song,' but it sounds like what you're saying is now that you've moved away from that and are thinking more about creating an experience in an album as a whole instead of having a bunch of pop numbers stuck together.

Nick: Yeah, I do think that song might have been the turning point for that sort of change in outlook.

Seeing you guys perform these songs live, I couldn't put my finger on what sorts of influences were coming together, but the one thing that stuck in my mind was that it reminded me a bit of The Black Heart Procession. Do you listen to them at all?

Nick: I did, years ago. It's funny, our producer worked on all of their records. His name is Ryan Hadlock.

Huh. That's interesting. What's your favorite place to play in Los Angeles?

Nick: Gosh, I really liked playing Sunset Junction years ago. I like both the El Rey and the Henry Fonda.

Have you spent any time in the city not while touring?

Nick: Yeah I lived there for about three months in 2005

Well, as our magazine is based in LA, tell me a bit of what you think about the city.

Nick: I always get a good feeling when I'm in LA. It's an inexplicable surge of...contentment. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the palm trees. There's something about L.A that makes me feel sort of at ease. I was living in Montebello, which I know doesn't technically count.

How did you end up all the way out there?

Nick: It was available, it was what was affordable. It was right after The Unicorns had broken up and it was a holding pattern for Jamie and myself. We were completely at a loss for what to do next. A friend of ours invited us down for new year's eve and we ended up staying for three months.

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of our interview with Islands' Nick Thorburn. I promise, it gets juicy.