Is Tropical - I'm Leaving Album Review

On Is Tropical's 2011 debut album 'Native To' there appeared to be this constant buzz that took to the stage in every track. After a while, it was like a bumblebee - or, even worse, a wasp - was burying its pesky self into the inner crevices of your ear holes. There are still scarce occasions where the buzzy reverb returns on 'I'm Leaving' but, for the majority, it sounds more sophisticated with bigger anthems. 

The album's lead single 'Dancing Anymore' has a very NSFW video to accompany it, which has got a lot of people talking and has been banned for YouTube. However, it's not as if the video needed to be controversial; the song has the power to stand up by itself without the depths and dreams of computer-generated girls and an adolescent boy. The thumping beat, catchy chorus vocals, "you won't take me dancing anymore" - which also feature a duet between band member Gary Barber and his girlfriend - add to its conflicting tone. The streaming electro sections make it the best track on 'I'm Leaving'. 

The inquisitive lyrics help you to remain vigilant throughout the record and give the pacing backing a motivational voice. 'Lillith' bears "Don't be afraid of living", and 'Video' - which also happens to have a similar lyrical rhythm to 'Pure' by The Lightning Seeds - gives us, "I never learnt to cry, I never questioned why". Compared to the last album's roughness and the minimal sound of previous single 'South Pacific, 'I'm Leaving' (produced by Foals producer Luke Smith), has more of a mature theme. 

'Lovers Cave' and 'Leave The Party' have sparkling electro sections that are sparky enough to start a kindling fire, for real. 'Sun Sun' sounds like something from a breakfast commercial; "Sun sun, you're the only one", beams through, happy and bordering on cheesy, with the addition of a xylophone. The clap-enticing 'Toulouse' has a muffled, skuzzy undertone, the opposite of the cutesy words, "Clementine Clementine, your lifeline flickers but we're out of time". 

End track 'Yellow Teeth' - featuring hushed vocals from Crystal Fighters' Ellie Fletcher - is a beautiful ending, despite the unpleasant-sounding title. Padding beats and cosmic riffs give the track a glistening lasting impression and prove how the curse of the second album has not affected the London trio in the slightest. 

Hayley Fox