While I can't claim to understand exactly what's happening in Island's video for their single "Rough Gem," I can tell you without any hint of uncertainty that the song itself is awesome. It's from ex-Unicorns Nick Diamond and J'aime Tambeur, and appeared on their 2005 release Return to the Sea. The whole album's kind of environmentally charged, songs ranging from diamond mines to Argentina freezing over.
This song in particular does especially well with Island's fantastic line-up -- everything meshes well, from the spastic drums to the pizzicato violins, from the smooth layering of instrumentations to Nick's rather off-kilter voice.
Plus, in typical Diamond fashion, the lyrics are wacky and visual, leading to some pretty weird mental pictures. The CD's definitely worth checking out (if you haven't already; it's been out for a while and has seen some success round these parts).
--Gus
This song in particular does especially well with Island's fantastic line-up -- everything meshes well, from the spastic drums to the pizzicato violins, from the smooth layering of instrumentations to Nick's rather off-kilter voice.
Plus, in typical Diamond fashion, the lyrics are wacky and visual, leading to some pretty weird mental pictures. The CD's definitely worth checking out (if you haven't already; it's been out for a while and has seen some success round these parts).
--Gus
