Illustration by Jasmine Patterson
Jonny Craig plus Craig Owens equals Isles & Glaciers. Simple concept, but what are the details behind this post-hardcore supergroup?
Most hardcore fans know the name Jonny Craig or are familiar with it, but for those who aren’t familiar with him, here are some deets. Jonny Craig was formerly the lead vocalist of Dance Gavin Dance and Emarosa. But for those who aren’t up on his work in those bands, he is also known for his solo album “A Dream is a Question You Don’t Know How to Answer,” which debuted Aug. 18, 2009 with Rise Records.
Does the name Craig Owens ring a bell? Owens is the former lead vocalist of the post-hardcore band, Chiodos, who currently departed on Sept. 24, 2009. Owens is also known for his pop-rock side project with Sound of Animals Fighting, Cinematic Sunrise, which formed in spring of 2005.
Together these two singers had combined their vocal talents with Pierce the Veil’s guitarist and drummer, Vic Fuentes and Mike Fuentes. Their guitar licks and drum beats fused together with the two distinct vocals to form Isles & Glaciers. Also other members joined the band to intensify this supergroup: Brain Southhall from The Receiving the End of Sirens and Boys Night Out, Nick Martin from Underminded and finally Matt Goddard from Chiodos.They together created their EP in Seattle from Dec. 3-13, 2008 and again in April 2009. Once all the tracks were put together and everything was properly mixed, the album was sent out and up for sale at Hot Topic stores on March 9.
Their album, “The Hearts of Lonely People,” contains seven tracks with two simple but beautiful interlude songs. The double breaks aid as a bridge which gives the album a more dramatic effect and adds more depth in emotion. The first interlude “Kings and Chandeliers” is constructed at the beginning of the CD with stitched in keys and synths and slightly-alternated drums for Craig Owen’s strong vocals to break the silence with the intro of “Hills Like White Elephants”. Intricately coordinated keys, synthesizers and bells assembled the second interlude track “Oceans for Backyards,” which more vocals flow into the instrumental stream to connect the beginning lyrics of “Viola Lion” towards the end.
Most of the lyrics to the songs are love songs like every artist writes, but there is more passion with these tracks because you can hear the true emotion from both singers and the back up vocals from Vic Fuentes. They use colorful metaphors to describe their feelings of love or heartache; for example (from the song “Cemetery Weather”), ” I never knew what I would do/ If anybody tried to speak your name/ I would tear down their house and/ I’d burn my way around the brightest memory of your face.”
If you like any of Jonny Craig’s or Craig Owens’s previous work, then you’ll like Isles & Glaciers, which has the same concepts and sounds but with a more instrumental and synthesizer touch to it.
By JASMINE PATTERSON
