Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

-based Indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band, Islands

Islands (band)

Islands is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2005 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York.-Return to the Sea:In mid-2005 Islands recorded a debut album titled Return to the Sea, which was released in April 2006...

. It was released on May 20, 2008 on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008. Nick Thorburn has commented that the album artwork itself resembles a vagina.

Concept and Production

Drummer Aaron outlined the album's concept and the band's songwriting approach thus:

We took a different approach with this album in that the music is focused on the band members - there are not any special appearances. Arm's was conceived in Montreal, we wrote the songs in a room with old NOFX

NOFX

NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...

 and Insane Clown Posse

Insane Clown Posse

Insane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...

 posters on the wall. As a band we put the music together and then singer Nick Thorburn wrote the lyrics.

Track listing

1. "The Arm" - 5:38
2. "Pieces of You" - 4:06
3. "J'aime Vous Voir Quitter" - 3:23
4. "Abominable Snow" - 4:35
5. "Creeper" - 3:15
6. "Kids Don't Know Shit" - 5:11
7. "Life in Jail" - 5:27
8. "In the Rushes" - 7:00 (contains a portion of "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who
   The Who
   The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
   
   )
9. "We Swim" - 5:06
10. "To a Bond" - 7:47
11. "I Feel Evil Creeping In" - 5:31
12. "Vertigo (If It's a Crime)" - 11:01

The full album is streaming on the band's MySpace

MySpace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

page.

Credits

Produced by Ryan Hadlock and Islands

Engineered by Ryan Hadlock

Assistant Engineering by Mathieu Roberge

Mixed by Rob Schnapf and Doug Boehm

Mix Engineer Assistant: Chris Constable

Mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone
Songs written by Nick Thorburn

Music arranged by Islands

Drum programming on track 5 by Corn Gangg



Recorded at Mixart in Montreal & Bear Creek in Woodinville, April & May 2007

Mixed at Sonora in LA, September & October 2007

Mastered at Sterling Sound in New York, December 2007



Artwork by Rebecca Bird

Photography by Alexander Wagner

Layout and Title Design by Philip Laslett