Orange Island are one of those bands who have had the unfortunate luck of being horribly mislabeled as emo. A more accurate description of their sound would be calling them an abrasive yet matured indie-rock band with an awareness of a pop-filled past. With the help of two previous releases, an EP and full-length with Iodine Records, Orange Island have developed for themselves a sound all to their own.
The album's opening track initially opens in a somber mood with soft acoustic guitars and eased drumming, but things quickly make a transition into a frenzy of crisp guitar work and upbeat vocal melodies. "Oh! How Clintonian of Me" continues on in similar fashion filled with fast-paced pop-influenced punk that could have easily landed its place on a Bad Religion album. As the album unveils itself, we are show the diversity in the musicianship. Orange Island fail to be pigeonholed as a one-trick act. While indie-rock bands Hum and Samiam helped paved the way for the genre, Orange Island has taken those ideas and infused them with the energy of a sugar-crazed five-year-old. Where as the music contained on the self-titled work may seem very fitting to a pop-punk/emo tag, the lyrical content speaks otherwise. The songs deal with the darker side of everyday life; the subject matter varies from the death of loved ones and suicide to the disappointment of failed relationships and the personal battles of family life and religion. Needless to say this isn't your everyday radio-rock band. But with cuts like "Life as a Series of Addictions" and "Holy Bibles and Stained Glass Hotel Windows", the thought of hearing them between New Found Glory and Thrice on your local radio station doesn't seem all that improbable. The album rounds out with the sincere and honest yet angry and regretful "The Bachelorette, Her Neck and a Drunk as Joe Millionaire" which is the self-confession of the failure to hold onto one's true love.
Orange Island's latest album provides the perfect blueprint for up-and-coming bands to follow. This is the correct way to distinguish oneself. While their mixing of both influences of past and peers of today may not be 100% genuine, at least it is a sound that they can call their own. If you crave honest and fun indie/pop or rock-n-roll music, this will be a great addition to your collection.
