Last week, London indie quartet ISLAND released their debut album Yesterday Park. The new album, not only marked by a bigger, grander overall sound and more intense experimentation, also bolsters constant honesty and earnestness in its lyrical narratives and vocal delivery, which feels like a breath of fresh air in the pop genre. Our favorite track from the gorgeous new release is definitely “By Your Side,” a breathtakingly honest ballad about loyalty and empathy. The band explained the track earlier this month in a track-by-track with Gigwise:
Lyrically, “By Your Side” is a song about that rose-tinted world of relationships and friendships. It was one of the first tracks we wrote for the album, but “By Your Side” was actually one of the hardest to work out in the studio, trying to find the right place between the washy guitars that create quite a spacy feel with the punchy drive of the bass and drums. We’re normally really delicate with dynamics but we wanted it to have a consistent, chuggy swagger to drive through the whole track.
Much like the other tracks on Yesterday Park, it’s the sincere vulnerability within “By Your Side” that draws us in – the instrumentals are patient and pure, providing ample space for frontman Rollo Doherty’s vocals. Both teary-eyed and hopeful, he touches on the nostalgia of the past and repeats his promise to always be there in the incendiary chorus, the guitar radiating like the bright sunrise after a grueling night.
Yesterday Park is out now via Frenchkiss Records.
P
photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 