Island of Love Announce 'Songs of Love' EP

Third Man Records' newest location, which opened in September 2021 -- has announced its first signing, the intrepid new indie quartet Island of Love. The first collaboration between the two will be the Songs of Love EP, which will be released digitally on March 18, 2022, followed by a limited edition 7" vinyl release on July 1. Pre-save the new EP here.

"Songs of Love was a collage of pretty wacky riffs Karim would play as guitar warm-ups until writing with the full band," the band says. "Dealing with feelings of inadequacy, the lyrics shine a light on a way most of us felt before picking up an instrument, and the voice it's since been able to give us. To have Third Man show an interest has been a surreal privilege to say the least."

Originally called 'Love Island' -- until "Linus didn't make the audition process so we jumbled it around" (or, possibly, for legal reasons) -- Third Man London's first signing settled instead on "Island of Love."

For the label, an island within the UK music scene is exactly what Karim, Linus, Daniel and Jimmy are: feedback-fueled adolescents with a depth of songwriting unheard since Teenage Fanclub's formative Catholic Education, and late '80s Dinosaur Jr . So mind-bendingly good are the group that Third Man co-founder and owner Ben Swank presented an offer approximately thirty seconds after they played the opening weekend of Third Man's new Soho digs (...new to the extent that drummer Jimmy left the stage with paint up his back).

Bonded by playing in various punk, hardcore and metal bands in their hometown of London, Island of Love's now double frontmen, Linus and Karim, would write and share demos between their family homes. The lo-fi, fuzzy fruits of these sessions melded into 2020's seven song Promo Tape.

Now, no longer a bedroom project, the four-piece's first collaboration with Third Man is the EP Songs of Love: twelve minutes of adrenaline, awash with guitar distortion, Linus and Karim's dark harmonies and contemplative lyrics beyond their teenage years. Out March digitally and June on vinyl, this special release is sure to go down in both the TMR history books as well as mosh pits nationwide.

Listen to the new title track here:

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