Islet

The experimental pop group Islet from Powys, Wales, embraces its fiercely autonomous position. Updates often arrive through the pages of The Isness rather than digital channels, vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Emma and Mark Daman Thomas continue holding regular employment, and the ensemble’s fluid fusion of psych, folk, electronic, and indie rock evolves with every new recording. The 2012 album Illuminated People and the subsequent year’s Released from the Movement displayed an unrestrained aesthetic recalling Gang Gang Dance and Animal Collective. Although the 2016 EP Liquid Half Moon and the expansive, emotionally resonant 2020 full-length Eyelet moved toward greater unity, the impulsive contrasts and wide dynamic range of 2023’s Soft Fascination reaffirmed the band’s dedication to pushing boundaries.

Islet originated in 2009 when brothers John Thomas and Mark Daman Thomas, both formerly of Attack + Defend, began jamming with Emma Daman Thomas, previously a member of the Victorian English Gentlemens Club. After performing as a trio for several shows, they recruited guitarist, drummer, and vocalist Alex Williams, once part of Fredrick Stanley Star. Early notice came from concerts marked by lengthy improvisations and frequent instrument swaps, prompting a series of short-form releases throughout 2010. Their recorded introduction arrived that January with Bento #6, part of Turnstile Records’ Bento singles series. A selection from the single, “Jasmine,” later appeared on the June mini-album Celebrate This Place. Captured by the band inside a Mid Wales barn, the set drew praise for preserving the immediacy of Islet’s live performances. Following a U.K. tour that included appearances at Truck, Latitude, and Green Man festivals, the group delivered Wimmy that October, another self-recorded mini-album produced in a disused Cardiff rehearsal space.

While developing their debut album during 2011, the earlier mini-albums were collected for the Japanese and European edition Celebrate This Place with Me. They also released the single This Fortune, whose B-side assembled fragments of location recordings made between Trenčín, Slovakia, and Cardiff. Illuminated People emerged in January 2012 on the band’s own Shape Records, traversing psych-rock, post-punk, and fuzzy lo-fi territories and earning a shortlist nomination for that year’s Welsh Music Prize. A more propulsive and varied approach defined October 2013’s Released by the Movement, which arrived packaged with issues of the ongoing Isness zine.

After Released by the Movement, Islet stepped back before returning with November 2016’s Liquid Half Moon, an EP whose sound was noticeably more streamlined. Signing with Fire Records in 2019, they issued the single “Clouds,” written during Emma Daman Thomas’ pregnancy. The track also featured on the March 2020 album Eyelet. Their first release as the trio of Mark and Emma Daman Thomas with Alex Williams, the record’s measured and integrated character reflected recent life events: Williams’ loss of his mother and the Daman Thomases’ welcome of their second child. John Thomas rejoined the lineup for September 2023’s Soft Fascination. Highlighting the group’s ongoing experimental drive, the album’s opening half emphasized raw, abrasive material while the second half shifted toward introspective pieces.