| "Islands" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe xx | ||||
| from the albumxx | ||||
| Released | 26 October 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label | Young Turks | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | The xx | |||
| The xx singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Islands" is a song recorded by Englishindie pop bandthe xx for theirself-titled debut studio album. Written by band-membersJamie Smith,Oliver Sim,Romy Madley Croft and then-member Baria Qureshi, "Islands" is a dark and simple indie pop track. It also contains influences fromhouse music and features instrumentation from guitars and synthesizers. Croft and Sim, who provided vocals in the track, sing about themes related to loyalty and love. "Islands" was released on 26 October 2009 as the thirdsingle from the album byYoung Turks in7-inch single anddigital download formats. In March 2010, the song was re-released as a12-inch single.
Critically well received, "Islands" was praised for its melody and the vocal performances of Croft and Sim. It was later ranked at number 28 onNME magazine's list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song became the band's highest-peaking single in the United Kingdom after it reached number 34 on theUK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number three on theUK Indie Chart. An accompanying music video for "Islands" was directed bySaam Farahmand, and consists of numerous tracking shots that show six dancers performing a dance routine around the members of the band. Every different shot features a slight change in the expression, gestures, and movement of the dancers and band-members. Critics complimented the concept of the video, and felt it was representative of the xx's musical style. The band performed the song live at theiTunes Festival in 2010 and it was also included on the set list of their 2010 and 2013 tour.
Acover version of "Islands" was recorded byColombian singer-songwriterShakira for inclusion in her ninth studio albumSale el Sol (2010). The cover followed a very similar instrumentation to the original version, but featured a faster tempo and more house elements. Shakira performed the cover live at the 2010Glastonbury Festival inPilton, Somerset.
"Islands" was written bythe xx band-membersJamie Smith,Oliver Sim,Romy Madley Croft and then-member Baria Qureshi, for the Englishindie pop band'sself-titled debut album (2009).[3] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com byUniversal Music Publishing Group, the song is composed in the key ofC♯ minor and has ametronome of 124beats per minute.[4] Sim and Croft provide vocals in the track, and their range spans from G#3 to E4.[4] Similar to the band's usual style of production, "Islands" is dark and "nocturnal" in nature and follows a "simple, effective" beat.[1] It features instrumentation from guitars which "twirl like dance floor partners in the background" andsynthesisers that "play like a musical shadow".[1] According toBBC Music's Lou Thomas, the song featureshouse rhythms and a melody similar to that ofTom Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down".[5] Lyrically, "Islands" is a "psycho-geographical love song"[6] and contains themes of loyalty, which are heard in lines like "I am yours now, so I don’t ever have to leave".[1] The duo's vocals were described as "girl-boy",[2] with Croft's vocal delivery taking on a "pleasant soft-pop vibe".[7] Sim momentarily interrupts the verses with "four short thumbings".[7] A "typically heartfelt and bed-cuddly"refrain "I am yours now" is repeated throughout the song, and UK-based online publicationMuso's Guide regarded it as "the closest thing The xx has produced to ahook".[2]
The song was released as the thirdsingle fromxx on 26 October 2009 byYoung Turks in7-inch single anddigital download formats.[8] A minimalistic and "sexy" track named "Do You Mind?" was included as theB-side to "Islands", and is composed of "untypically brash drums".[2] On 15 March 2010, Young Turks released a12-inch single version "Islands", which contained various remixes of the song.[9]
"Islands" was critically well received. It was called a "top-notch indie pop song" byBBC Music.[10] Lou Thomas, a critic for the website, said there is a "sense of quiet triumph" in what he felt was a musical reference to "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty in the song's melody, "despite the incongruity".[5] TheMuso's Guide review of "Islands" approved of the song's release as a single and complimented Croft and Sim's vocal delivery, saying they "provide a superb introduction to what the band is all about".[2] They particularly appreciated its "I am yours now" refrain, naming it "a typically heartfelt and bed-cuddly line that makes The xx the perfect alternative lovers band".[2] Emily Mackay fromNME called the song "gorgeous" and felt it was "the perfect soundtrack for wandering aimlessly along rainyLondon streets".[6] Andrew Gaerig fromPitchfork Media chose "Islands" as one of the highlights from the album and complimented Croft's vocals and Sim's involvement.[7] In 2011,NME ranked "Islands" at number 28 on their list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years", naming it the band's "finest moment thus far".[1]
In the United Kingdom, "Islands" reached number 34 on thesingles chart and is the xx's highest-peaking single in the region to date.[11] Its total stay inside the top 40 of the chart lasted for eight weeks.[11] "Islands" was more successful on theUK Indie chart and peaked at number three.[12] The song also peaked at number 16 onUltratop chart of the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, and stayed on the chart for a total of two weeks.[13]
The accompanyingmusic video for "Islands" was directed by Saam Farahmand, who had previously worked with artists likeSimian Mobile Disco andKlaxons.[14] It premiered onMTV on 21 April 2010.[15] Composed of a series oftracking shots, the video shows Croft, Sim, and Smith "listlessly" sitting on a couch with six dancers performing a choreographed dance routine behind them.[15] The dancers carry out the same routine with every next tracking shot, but a slight change in their expressions, gestures, and movement takes place.[14][15] Similarly, the band-members repeatedly change their positions and facial expressions "with differing fervour".[14] Near to the end of the video, the pattern begins modifying and "the comfortable habits get broken up/break up" as the dancers and band-members leave one by one.[14] The backdrop, which consists of several small "X" letters, also catches fire.[14]
The video received positive reviews from critics. Katie Hasty fromHitFix praised the choreography, calling it "eye-popping", and labelled the video as "classy, contained, and borderline claustrophobic".[14] She complimented Farahmand for directing a risky concept and commented that the tracking shots were like "an inhale and exhale with each new take".[14] Furthermore, she felt that the video was representative of the xx's sound, calling it "morose and hypnotic, just like the band, the aural equivalent of a mumblecore movie", and opined that the end of the video showed how "love goes".[14] Chris Ryan fromMTV also found the video similar to the band's musical style, and commented that the slight changes in its pattern "suggest unrest under the surface -- much like the band's pristine, subtly menacing sound".[15] He also noted that while "it's often hard to imagine what visuals would go well" with the xx's songs, the music video for "Islands" "trumps anything we could have ever imagined".[15]
On 2 October 2009, the xx performed "Islands" live on British music television showLater... with Jools Holland, along with "Night Time".[16] The song was included on theset list of their 2010 tour, and was also performed at theITunes Festival held atThe Roundhouse in London in the same year; the band later released adigital EP of their performance.[17] "Islands" was also included on the set list of the band's 2013 tour, and a morerock-oriented version of the song was performed.[18]
"Islands" was played during the closing monologue of the fourteenth episode of thesixth season of American television medical dramaGrey's Anatomy, entitled "Valentine's Day Massacre".[19] It was also a part of the soundtrack of thetenth episode of thesecond season of comedy-drama television seriesParenthood, entitled "Happy Thanksgiving".[20]
|
|
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] | 16 |
| France (SNEP)[23] | 90 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[24] | 34 |
| UK Indie (OCC)[25] | 3 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[26] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[27] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Islands" | |
|---|---|
| Song byShakira | |
| from the albumSale el Sol | |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:43 |
| Label | Epic |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
Colombian singer-songwriterShakira recorded acover version of "Islands" for inclusion in her ninth studio albumSale el Sol, which was released on October 19, 2010.[28] Although there was initial speculation that the cover would be entitled "Explore",[29][30] it appeared on the final track list of the album using its original name.[28] In comparison to the original version, Shakira's cover of "Islands" follows a largely similar and "fairly faithful" instrumentation,[31] but features a fastertempo, "hopeful-sounding" vocals,[32] and "pseudo-house" elements.[33] Prior to Shakira recording the cover of "Islands", Croft had briefly met her at theLondon BBC Studios; the former talked about her meeting, saying "We were sitting on a wall outside the BBC and she came up and her bodyguards parted and it was little Shakira, and she says, "Hi!" And I was like, Wow! I found out recently that she's a big fan ofThe Cure and stuff".[31]
Shakira's cover of "Islands" drew generally favourable reception from critics.Stephen Thomas Erlewine fromAllMusic felt it was a highlight on the album, and commented that Shakira "finds warmth within the art pop of The xx, whose "Islands" is a shimmering peak here".[28][34] Mikael Wood fromEntertainment Weekly appreciated the cover, and opined that "[Shakira] discovers the beating heart inside that band's subdued electro-goth jam".[35] Becky Bain fromIdolator called Shakira's version of "Islands" "sunnier than the original" and regarded it as "brilliantly subdued", complimenting the singer's overall reworking of the original track.[32] In 2011,Stereogum included the cover on their list of "The 10 Best xx Covers".[36] Shakira's cover of "Islands" appeared on the USBillboard Latin Digital Songs chart, peaking at number 39 for one week.[37]
In June 2010, Shakira performed the cover live at theGlastonbury Festival inPilton, Somerset.[38] Alex Needham fromThe Guardian called the performance "a slinky cover" that "is a nod to the indie kids".[38] Maria Schurr fromPopMatters felt the performance was "less intimate than the original", but "managed to amplify the tremendous pop sensibilities embedded beneath Romy Madley Croft"s and Oliver Sim's hushed coos".[39] She concluded by saying that "as great as The xx are, it’s probably safe to say that Shakira can cut a rug better".[39]
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USLatin Digital Songs (Billboard)[40] | 39 |
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Singles |
|
| Other songs | |
| Tours | |
| Related | |
