Single Review: Low Island – In Person
Header photo of Low Island by Dan Kendall
In the South of England, the lofty spires of University of Oxford loom above a city that consistently punches above its weight in the production of quality bands. You know them: Radiohead, Swervedriver, Foals, Stornoway, Glass Animals. Are Low Island next? They have named themselves after the geological term for a land mass surrounded by water but of the most unusual origin. You see, a low island is formed not from the activity of volcanoes (think Hawaii, Indonesia, etc.) but instead from the dirt and rocks that build up on top of a coral reef.
The band’s moniker is quite on the humble foundations on which they began: Jamie Jay and Carlos Posada used to DJ in Leeds back in the day and they’ve taken their first-hand knowledge of how to get people on the dance floor to influence their electronic-driven dance pop. The childhood friends’ music follows in the great tradition of Friendly Fires and Holy Ghost! and has been already been compared to the xx and Caribou. Last week, Low Island released their latest single, ‘In Person’, and it’s super.
The tune begins with 3 seconds of a sci-fi arc of sound, followed by a sexy, swaggery drum beat. Posada’s voice, as well as a bouncy synth line, come in to provide additional catchiness. It’s the kind of song with so many things going on at the same time, you know it would be amazing to watch live. That is, if you can stand still long enough not to groove along with them; I don’t think I could hold myself back. Lyrically, ‘In Person’ takes on the paradox of social media: Despite our theoretical ability to keep in touch with each and every one of our friends on a multitude of platforms, and from a piece of metal in the palm of your hand to boot, keeping in touch as we get older doesn’t seem to get any easier. Technology has wreaked havoc on our ability to communicate and interact with each other. What’s the take home message? I think Low Island just want us to dance. I won’t argue with them. Check them out on their UK tour in March and April.
Update 10 March 2020: The original video I linked to no longer exists. But I now have something far better, a live video from Oxford Bullingdon that premiered on Clash Magazine on 9 March.
3 Responses
15th February 2019
Nice review – I’d suggest a minor correction though, it’s Jay’s voice not Posada on this one I think.
17th February 2019
Hi Jim,
I checked with the band. Turns out both Jamie and Carlos are singing on it and at the same time. Who would have guessed?
Mary
1st April 2019
[…] vorrangiges Ziel es ist, die Leute auf den Dancefloor zu bekommen. Da hilft es, dass die Bandleader lange Jahre als DJs unterwegs waren. „In Person“ ist der bislang beste Track der Band aus […]