The story of the Microphones is one without the mental breakdowns or hermetic between-album freakouts that typify sonic experimenters of Phil Elvrum's caliber. In fact, for a guy with a near-supernatural talent for manipulating recorded sound, Elvrum seems almost suspiciously good-natured. Even as his albums have progressively become more sonically complex and his songs more epic, he has remained an entirely accessible and likeable character.
As there's no contrived artifice of mystery or obscurity to the Microphones, it's not all that surprising that Elvrum has compiled the plethora of hard-to-find Microphones singles-- as well as some other non-album recordings-- onto this one, easy-to-swallow CD. Song Islands compiles pretty much every non-album Microphones track in existence, aside from those that were included on last year's vinyl-only Blood LP. As such, the compilation is far more disparate than Elvrum's other recorded output, especially last year's stunningly consistent The Glow, Pt. 2. In short, there are a few moments of absolute brilliance, a few stinkers, and a whole bunch of tracks that will be of great interest only to die-hards.
Song Islands' first several tracks have an adventurous, though endlessly unrefined, lo-fi sound that typifies early Microphones recordings. The appropriately percussion-heavy "Bass Drum Dream" contains several sonic calling cards-- stereo-panned acoustic guitars and elephantine distorted drums. The lyrics are vivid and imaginative, detailing Elvrum's vision of a fantastical drum-oriented universe. "The Storm" is less successful, pairing overdriven marching band percussion with layers of indistinguishable distorted noise. "Feedback," however, is one of Song Islands' most interesting tracks. Opening with a sample of an retro-style announcer discussing drums that wouldn't seem displaced on DJ Shadow's The Private Press, the track soon becomes a sparse acoustic guitar-and-mumble dirge, and then a mess of blaring guitars and booming percussion.
As these songs were not assembled as an album, the more sonically overpowering tracks lose some of the punch they carried as part of a greater entity. Song Islands is at its most successful when the more basic elements of songcraft are given precedence. An alternate version of "The Moon," with a sparse, Pink Moon-style arrangement, is quite possibly the most beautiful single track ever to grace a Microphones album. "Deeply Buried" is centered around a bass drum, a bell, and an utterly gorgeous vocal melody, and accentuated by flourishes of backwards percussion and guitar. Like the best of Elvrum's work, it conveys a concurrent innocence and understanding that's capable of stripping your defenses like industrial-grade paint thinner.
Yet, sadly, there are parts of this album in which that innocence turns almost ridiculous-- most notably, the hokey sing-along "I Can't Believe You Actually Died." Though the instrumentation and recording is typically top-notch, the song itself is cloying and sing-songy, entirely betraying the serious subject matter. And the fact that half the population of Olympia sings on the recording doesn't do much to counter the its awkwardness.
The rest of Song Islands doesn't stray far from what we've come to expect from Elvrum. Given the fact that this is a compilation, it obviously doesn't come together all that well, and there's little here that can really compare to the best of It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water or The Glow, Pt. 2. Still, for fans, there's a lot to like here. And thankfully, that goodness can now be tapped without having to sort through countless pieces of seven-inch vinyl.
