Winter’s upon us and while nothing can slow incoming snow and dark days, Robyn Sherwell’s new single is an excellent pick-me-up. The London-based singer packs rumbling percussion, lush, irresistible vocals, and a head-bobbing pop melody into “Islander.” Inspired by her days growing up in Guernsey—an island located in the English Channel—the groovy three-minute track sounds like a tribal dance party that lasts til sunrise (most likely on the beach). In other words, exactly what you need to get through the winter, because, hate to go all Game of Thrones on everyone, but it’s only the beginning. Just take it from Sherwell:"The song was written in 2013 and recorded in David Kosten's studio in West London that year. I've always been a bit fixated on the idea of home and belonging. My family moved around a far bit when I was small and eventually settled in Guernsey which is a pretty unique place to grow up. The song references the island's past and explores that feeling of knowing a place well, knowing it is part of you, but also the conflict of needing to get away from what you know so well too. It was written in minutes, almost—it was a quick one! Just banging drums and vocals in the first instance, and that's still the basic vibe. I wasn't sure if it was really anything special until David heard my rough demo and insisted it should go on the record."Good thing it did too.
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Liza Darwin will be listening to this on loop during winter's dark days and she's on Twitter.