Pictures is the first and only studio album by Island, a band formed in Switzerland in 1975.
Island is a quartet led by the classically trained keyboardist Peter Scherer. During the Pictures era, the band included a vocalist, a drummer, and a wind player who played a wide variety of wind instruments. And since Scherer also handled the band’s low frequencies with bass pedals (Moog Taurus), the connection to Van Der Graaf Generator—which played with a similar lineup—is obvious.
The band’s music also sounds a bit like Van der Graaf Generator, but the music on Pictures is considerably more complex. The use of wind instruments is more refined and leans more toward classical music than VdGG’s. The sound is somewhat chamber-music-like, which links it to the avant-prog movement that was just emerging at the time.
To put it simply, the band’s style could be described as a mix of VdGG and the Belgian band Univers Zero, with a touch of classical music influences. Univers Zero, however, didn’t release their debut until the same year that Island released theirs, so the similarities are likely just a coincidence or stem from influences shared by both bands. Some common ground can perhaps also be found in the sound of Magma and contrapuntal style of Gentle Giant.
The English-singing vocalist Benjamin Jäger (who is somewhat reminiscent of the singer from Gnidrolog) is the album’s weakest link, but fortunately, the stunning music more than makes up for it.
All the tracks on the album are united by a somber, at times even macabre atmosphere. The song structures are truly complex, and the band skillfully utilizes dynamics, playing very quietly at times to build the atmosphere. That said, the explosive peaks could be just a tad sharper. The climaxes don’t always quite live up to what the intense build-up and foreplay would lead you to expect. The explosive moments could have used a little more power.
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The album’s overall style is largely quite “symphonic,” but the long title track, “Pictures”—which runs nearly 17 minutes—features not only medieval atmospheres but also some jazz-like elements. In particular, Rene Fisch is given ample and delightful space to solo on the saxophone midway through the track. The richly pulsating bass pedal sound provides a delicious backdrop for the intricate interplay of the keyboards and wind instruments. The rumble of the bass pedal is truly captivating throughout the album and quite a unique listening experience. The interplay between the drums and the bass pedal is, at times, absolutely breathtaking. On the one hand, the rhythm section plays with incredible tightness, but at other times, the pedals break away in an interesting way to play their own distinct patterns.
Another thing worth noting about “Pictures” is that it features perhaps the most nauseating chorus hook I’ve ever heard. Jäger’s repeated “GASTRIC JUICES!” (definitely requires all caps) is something quite baffling. The chant, combined with the dark-toned music, is both repulsive and amusing. And absolutely brilliant! The track offers the only humorous respite from the otherwise rather gloomy atmosphere of the album. It’s probably unintentional humor, though, born out of the Swiss guys’ limited command of English…
Drops like diamonds, they disintegrate every thing
Excerpt from the lyrics of “Pictures”
Drops like crystals, they destroy every thing
Soap bubbles, that burst as if they never been
Gastric juices
That seem to dissolve me
Gastric juices…
Your crying, your crying
Afraid of the next act?
“Pictures” is one of the greatest prog compositions of all time that’s over 15 minutes long, even though the vocalist doesn’t quite measure up to the brilliant composition and stunning musical performances.
Musically speaking, Pictures isn’t all doom and gloom, as the album’s third-longest track, the 12-minute “Herold And King/Dloreh,” contains some quite playful elements. The track, which begins with a classic piano intro, features not only the usual intense pounding but also—and just as importantly—playful percussion parts reminiscent of Gentle Giant and strange vocalizations. And most remarkably, the vocalist sings a large portion of the songs backward. Seriously. This isn’t some “flip the tape over” kind of gimmick. These guys from Island are some real characters.
Htinez
Ote ”Herold And King/Dlorehin” lyriikoista
Eht setanimulli dna
Slatep esor fo maerts a ekil ouy srevoc hcihw
Tsim nedlog eht ni gninnigeb ruoy
Fo dne eht wonk I
The 49-minute Pictures is a consistently strong album, although the 12-minute closing track, “Here And Now,” could have been just a touch shorter. That said, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the song itself; it just had the misfortune of ending up as the final track on a rather complex album. By this point, the listener is already starting to feel a bit worn out, and “Here And Now” doesn’t really offer any new twists compared to the rest of the album’s style.
Unfortunately, Pictures remained Island’s only album. However, the CD released by The Laser’s Edge in 1996 includes a bonus track over 23 minutes long, “Empty Bottles,” which was intended for the band’s next album. It’s a very high-quality track, too. The sound quality of “Empty Bottles” is mostly on par with a good demo. In 2005, Island also released a double album’s worth of previously unreleased archival material from 1975–76 in the form of an album titled Pyrrho. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to listen to that release yet.
The album’s grotesque cover, which captures the mood of the music quite well, was painted by Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger—known for ELP’s Brain Salad Surgery, Magma’s Attahk, and the Xenomorph creature from the Alien films.
Island’s only studio album, Pictures, is a gem from the dark side of power that has gone far too overlooked. If you enjoy dark and complex symphonic progressive rock, the strange, gloomy, and captivating Pictures is unlikely to disappoint.
Best tracks: “Zero”, ”Pictures”, “Herold And King/Dloreh”
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Tracks
1. Introduction (1:28)
2. Zero (6:13)
3. Pictures (16:51)
4. Herold And King / Dloreh (12:13)
5. Here And Now (12:15)
Musicians:
Benjamin Jäger: vocals, percussion Peter Scherer: keyboards, bass pedals, crotales, backing vocals René Fisch: saxophone, flute, clarinet, triangle, backing vocals Güge Jürg Meier: drums, gong, percussion
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