Malaysian band Islands stare down an existential crisis on new single ‘2020’

Malaysian dream pop band Islands have released ‘2020’, the third and final single from their upcoming debut album.

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The ‘2020’ music video was released on February 22, ahead of the single’s release on streaming platforms on February 26. The visual appears to be an abstract collection of clips of the band going through their daily lives in lockdown as a jagged, persistent guitar riff accompanies acerbic lyrics like “But they wanna give excuses to stay / On their phones and spill some morbid things / The fun is dead and we’re running out of time / Generic bullshit is becoming the new fun”.

Watch the music video for Islands’ ‘2020’ below.

In a media statement, the band said the song was about “the existential crisis” of going through daily life, which Islands feel is all the more relatable in a world is struggling with a global pandemic. Written by frontman Izelan Shahier in late 2019, the single was recorded in Shahier’s bedroom during the second wave of lockdowns in Malaysia in 2020 and features footage shot in the band members’ houses toward the end of the lockdowns last year.

The single is also the first music Islands have released featuring new members Faris, Sarah and Yazid.

Islands previously released two singles in 2019, ‘Comet’ and ‘Teenage Breakdown’ featuring Lurkgurl, before putting their music careers on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The band have yet to announce a release date for their forthcoming album, only promising that it is “coming soon”.

The post Malaysian band Islands stare down an existential crisis on new single ‘2020’ appeared first on NME.