But this is important.
The band are Islet, a name that will trigger happy memories for anyone who’s been to a gig in Cardiff in the past 12 months. They supported more people last year than the dole office. Once seen, never forgotten, Islet’s tribal, sinuous approach to rock is artfully odd, bordering on prog, slightly pretentious, but bloody brilliant.
Islet are dark – not musically, but in the spy sense. No MySpace, no Facebook ‘become a fan’ business, and no online presence at all, in fact, save for snapshots of gigs that fans have uploaded to youtube and a fansite. This has got NME all in a lather, suckers for gimmicks that they are.
This is no gimmick though. According to an interview in Kruger (Issue 24), Islet simply haven’t got around to doing it, because they’re too busy rehearsing and working. Cautiousness may also be behind this, all four members having experience and pedigree with other good local bands (Sweet Baboo, Them Squirrels, Attack + Defend, The Victorian English Gentleman’s Club, the list goes on) which have received hype before the legwork.
So the emergence today of two mp3s on Turnstile’s excellent website, all free and legit (in exchange for an email address) is news – and good news at that for those with ears.
For info on any upcoming gigs check their myspace Buzz’s listings.