Arm's Way

Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based indie rock band Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008,^[1] on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008.^[10]

Arm's Way
Studio album by Islands
Released	May 20, 2008
Recorded	April–May 2007[1]
Studio	Bear Creek, Woodinville, WA, and Mixart, Montreal, Canada[1]
Genre	Indie
Length	68:06
Label	ANTI-[2]
Producer	Ryan Hadlock and Islands
Islands chronology
Return to the Sea (2006) Arm's Way (2008) Vapours (2009)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Drowned in Sound	9/10[4]
Pitchfork Media	6.2/10[5]
PopMatters	6/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Spin	[8]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[9]

Concept and production

Drummer Aaron Harris outlined the album's concept and the band's songwriting approach thus:

We took a different approach with this album in that the music is focused on the band members – there are not any special appearances. Arm's was conceived in Montreal, we wrote the songs in a room with old NOFX and Insane Clown Posse posters on the wall. As a band we put the music together and then singer Nick Thorburn wrote the lyrics.^[11]

Music

The musical style of Arm's Way represents a departure from the Graceland-inspired sound of debut album Return to the Sea. Rebecca Raber of Pitchfork writes, "Gone are the guest rappers, the acoustic nuevo-country twang, and the sunny Afro-Caribbean flourishes ... In their place are theatrical string arrangements, layers of silvery, minor-key guitars, and lots of gothy synthesizers."^[5] Most lyrics include references to death and violence, themes which are shared with frontman Nick Thorburn's previous project The Unicorns.^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Arm"	5:38
2.	"Pieces of You"	4:06
3.	"J'aime vous voir quitter"	3:23
4.	"Abominable Snow"	4:35
5.	"Creeper"	3:15
6.	"Kids Don't Know Shit"	5:11
7.	"Life in Jail"	5:27
8.	"In the Rushes" (contains a portion of "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who)	7:00
9.	"We Swim"	5:06
10.	"To a Bond"	7:47
11.	"I Feel Evil Creeping In"	5:31
12.	"Vertigo (If It's a Crime)"	11:01

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.^[12]

• Patrice Agbokou – bass
• Rebecca Bird – artwork
• Doug Boehm – mixing
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Alex Chow – percussion, synthesizer, viola, violin
• Sebastian Chow – oboe, piano, violin, vocals
• Chris Constable – mixing assistant
• Corn Gangg – drum programming
• Steve Fallone – mastering
• Patrick Gregoire – bass clarinet, guitar
• Ryan Hadlock – engineer, producer
• Aaron Harris – drums, percussion, vocals
• Islands – arranger, primary artist, producer
• Mathieu Roberge – assistant engineer
• Rob Schnapf – mixing
• Nick Thorburn – guitar, vocals
• Alexander Wagner – photography