Nostalgic and evocative, Octopus finds ISLAND with a revived passion and a renewed sense of confidence.

Marking a new era for the band, Octopus follows on from their 2019 EP When We’re Still and 2018 debut album Feels Like Air. Challenging the idea of conformity, the new track offers a vivid picture of inner conflict, painting it with incandescent splashes of modern pop stylings and indie aesthetics. With a touch of deep yearning and a swooning melancholia to it, Octopus thrives on glistening instrumentals and ardent vocals gliding over a rich, full texture. The metaphorical and lyrical embellishment adds a poetic quality to the track, whilst the more complex production elevates ISLAND‘s trademark sound to new heights.

Speaking on the new single, the band shares:

‘Octopus’ describes the feeling of looking back on rebellious teenage years from a time where an impulse to cause trouble has been replaced with new sentiments. It’s about the conflict felt as a musician between wanting to grow older and wiser and wanting to stay young, and it asks if we as a world are only interested in stories, and whether normality is something to be desired. A world in which you might be persuaded to change yourself to fit in, like an octopus changes colour to adapt to its surroundings. The song ends by flirting with the idea of reverting back to old ways, and getting back to making trouble.