Indie-rockers marked 2003 as the year of The Unicorns.
   The Canadian pop darlings rose to underground stardom behind such anthems as “Jellybones,” “I Was Born (a Unicorn)” and “Tuff Ghost.” They took catchy hooks and morbid lyrics to new heights, never repeating a theme and never sounding stale. The Unicorns refused to follow a verse-chorus-verse song structure, and their songs rarely strayed beyond three minutes. It was the world’s most concise prog-rock.
   Sadly, The Unicorns had the lifespan of a mayfly. They broke up before the rest of the music world caught on.
   Fortunately, Unicorns’ singer and songwriter Nick Diamonds, and drummer J’aime Tambeur stayed together to form Islands. Upon listening to their debut album Return to the Sea, it’s clear the two were the important part of their former band.
   Islands come across as a mix between The Unicorns and Paul Simon. The opening track, “Swans (Life After Death),” is instantly more organic and natural than anything Diamonds wrote in the past. Gone are the sub-three minute recordings and most of the Pac-Man synthesizers. Full compositions loaded with acoustic guitars and a full array of percussion replace them. A good listen will even reveal the occasional chorus.
   This isn’t to say there aren’t any hints of the musicians’ past in Return, such as “If There’s a Will, There’s a Whalebone,” which begins with Diamonds’ hushed falsetto over eerie instrumentation before bursting into a dizzying array of bass, synthesizers and hip-hop.
   The morbid sense of humor remains, too.
   There are still plenty of songs about bones and death, and it’s as lovable as ever.
   A truly weak song is the only thing Islands lacks. There are a couple moments where the album drags along, such as the instrumental “Tsuxiit” and “It,” but it makes up for it with brilliant songs like “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby,” “Rough Gem” and the aforementioned “If There’s a Will, There’s a Whalebone.”
   Islands succeeds in carrying on The Unicorns’ brilliance, and in doing so has turned Return to the Sea into one of the best albums of 2006. Hopefully, this band won’t disappear so quickly.