Back To Terrific is the debut EP from New York post-wavers, The Isles. Not a bad first offering with quality production and a sound, a frank approach to their musical style, but they come off as somewhat hollow in their lyrical content.
The instrumentation is very clearly referable to the Shins and Interpol, but not in a boringly derivative sense. It would be nice to hear a bit more variety, but now much can we expect from a four track E.P.?
The real problem is the lack of direction or depth in the lyrics, as I mentioned. Usually, a debut release captures the concepts that have cycling through a musician’s head for years. This is why a band’s second album can sometimes be quite challenging. For the Isles’ sake, I hope complexity blooms with the band’s age.
