Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Dec 19, 2013Ski Mask is almost certainly not Islands’ most accessible or enjoyable work, but it ranks with the band’s most forceful and accomplished.
-
Oct 29, 2013Get marooned with them, while you still can.
-
Under The RadarSep 17, 2013In Ski Mask, Nick Thorburn has composed a record that captures the essence of his curious, unconventional indie pop band. [Aug-Sep 2013, p.91]
-
Sep 19, 2013The blackened Ski Mask listens like a work in progress about how one would read an unfinished manuscript. Yet with every page turned, it’s a promising step forward towards what Islands are working to become: fulfilled.
-
Sep 17, 2013Here, harmonies, bouncy synths and cheeky metaphors abound, and, besides a few clunky miscalculations, the record is an undeniably fun listen.
-
Sep 16, 2013Fans of early Islands albums may feel Ski Mask to be a little on the morose side, but anyone who's ever had a heartbreak can appreciate what Thorburn is going through and admire how tunefully and truthfully he's dealing with it.
-
Sep 16, 2013Rather than chase his early highs, Ski Mask is the latest issuance of a unique voice continuing to explore his particularities and place them in new contexts.
-
Sep 16, 2013It's all pleasant, but when it's over, the only truly memorable song is "Wave Forms."
-
Jan 6, 2014There's much to admire here, but when you’ve stared into the sun for too long, it’s hard to see the dimmer lights.
-
Q MagazineOct 11, 2013If Ski Mask fails to be a hit now, though, give it 20 years and it'll be cult gold. [Nov 2013, p.102]
-
Oct 7, 2013Ski Mask is a solid Islands album, but it lacks the thematic and musical cohesion of Thorburn’s best work.
-
Sep 16, 2013Perhaps Ski Mask's greatest virtue is that it demonstrates Islands' competency as a conventional rock act while dropping the occasional winking reminder that the band hasn't lost their ability to get weird.