Restart Now!

Album Review

Of course Foreign Islands kick off their Restart Now! EP with their single "We Know You Know It," a swaggering song comprising equal parts of spit, vinegar, and sneering attitude. Later in the set, the number undergoes a quite staggering transformation under the auspices of their stage-mates Filthy Dukes, who turn it into a stomping, four-on-the floor-fired techno monster, awash in blips and beeps and menaced by a rapacious bassline. The Islanders get to show off more of their own electro skills on "Fine Dining with the Future," and with its occasional nods to Depeche Mode, finally put some weight behind the Brit's famed claim of being punks with synthesizers. In truth, the number actually owes more to the likes of the more experimental electro-wavers, but Boyz Noize caught the DM influences as well, and play them up for all their worth on their sizzling remix. There again, most of the Islanders' songs sound like they were remixed with an inspirational axe to grind, which is much of their appeal. "Ghost Story," for example, is a clever blend of the Banshees, the Fall, and a guitar bridge and brass blast ripped right out from under the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On." "Hold Onto Nothing"'s mauling drum line comes courtesy of Gary Glitter and "No Holiday"'s guitar riff

from the Kinks' "You Really Got Me," all turned inside-out of course. Like the mugger who grabs your wallet then furiously pistol whips you for not carrying enough cash, these Islanders have a lot of gall, and an insolence that puts even the Sex Pistols and the Dead Boys to shame. But when you've got a great ear for incredibly catchy songs, and a sharp eye for other's useful possessions to bend to your own warped will, you can disdain the world all you want, it will still end up your oyster.