Review | Island of Love – Island of Love

Label: Third Man Records

With very little warning, London based Island of Love give you a metaphorical slap around the face as ‘Big Whale’ opens up their debut self titled album and gets straight down to business.

Marrying up pop, garage and sheer volume, Island of Love are singing from the same hymn sheet as Dinosaur Jr but there’s something just a little more weighted to this.

‘Fed Rock’ somehow picks up the pace even more as it barrels along with a brick on the accelerator and a smile on the band’s face. Almost leaning towards a Libertines-esque shambling indie turned up to 11, ‘Fed Rock’ could easily light up a mosh pit or dance floor at the drop of a distortion pedal.

The rest of ‘Island of Love’ plays out with that same joyful noise as tracks like ‘Blues 2000’ see a wailing guitar solo rip a hole through the middle of the track and ‘I’ve Got the Secret’s rip roaring blues style guitar work, supported by drums that take a good amount of punishment.

Having your debut album released on Third Man Records is always going to come with a weight of expectation when Jack White is your boss but Island of Love live up to it and then some. The energy is felt in every last beat from beginning to end and the whole album feels like a joy ride; you just have to buckle in and give yourself to the mercy of the driver.