After the breakup of popular experimental lo-fi indie rock band the Unicorns, members Nicholas Thorburn (aka Nick Diamonds; vocals, guitar, keyboard) and Jaime Thompson (aka J'aime Tambeur; drums) formed Islands, which found the two more focused on brighter production and neo-psychedelic indie pop. Since forming in early 2005, the Canadian band has also featured a fluctuating lineup of contributors on a wide variety of instruments, both live and on record. That list includes Alex and Sebastian Chow (the 1993 and 1994 World Super NES Fest champions), Jim Guthrie (grandson of Woody and nephew of Arlo), and rappers Subtitle and Busdriver. Islands released the debut album Return to the Sea in April 2006 through Rough Trade in the U.K. and Equator in North America. For one of its first shows, Islands opened for Beck at the 2005 Pop Montreal music festival, followed in October 2005 by a short tour with Beck. On another tour in early 2006 the band was opening for Metric. That May the band announced that Tambeur would be leaving Islands, citing a loss of interest in being in a band. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide
