Islet - Wimmy (Album Review for The Miniature Music Press)

Words originally for The Miniature Music Press and can be found in the December edition of the magazine.

Listening to Islet can be like a cow eating grass. Only after the difficult-to-digest cellulose has been broken down by the first few parts of the stomach can the cow reap benefits – and it may take a few listens before Wimmy, the Cardiff band’s second mini-album, reveals itself for the real treat that it is. Take Ringerz. Layered with distortion, synth-y effects and unusual drum rhythms, what lies beneath is a true pop masterpiece with a nod to Animal Collective, and Horses And Dogs which has enough ideas to fill out an entire album. Dub-inspired bass lines, casually spoken-word vocals, a prog-like guitar solo mid-song, and the most random yet utterly brilliant r’n’b vocal breakdown; yet to say the song ‘works’ would be an understatement. Songs that may seemingly start as incoherent and disorientating racket will, given time, mould into a fantastic hypnotising and clattering collection of smashed-together ideas. Wonderful.

4.4/5