The Autumn Isles

A showery Sunday night at Spectrum is not usually where one would first go to seek some musical magic. But when the band playing are brimming with wide-eyed enthusiasm from making their first foray east, well, even the looming working week can’t rain on this parade. The Autumn Isles are your ‘classic’ guitar pop band in that they deftly shape and craft their songs with seemingly timeless hooks and infectious melodies. The bands have been receiving all manner of positive press, a third straight WAMI Pop Song of the Year nomination and they made the top ten of the Wireless Bollinger ‘Australian Bands to Watch’ on the strength of their two self-released EPs.

On CD, the songs have an assured and almost meticulous sheen to them. What was most impressive about the Autumn Isles’ live set, was their ability to effortlessly play such well-honed songs and also create an engaging performance. The tunes arrive all bright and sunny with chiming guitars, swirling keyboard lines, hand claps and even a cheeky dose of cowbell. The vocals are delivered as if they are another vital instrument in the mix as well providing some thought-provoking material. The sparing, but dashingly effective, use of harmonies and backing vocals add even more lustre to the mix and when the guy and girl inflections intertwine it’s a pretty darn sweet.

The Autumn Isles have a bucket-load of great songs at their disposal, with most played this evening. You can certainly see what all the “Next Big Thing” fuss is about as their tunes are delivered with such warmth that they become addictive from the very first listen. The music proves so persuasive that there was even some utterly un-self-conscious swing dancing broke out amongst the particularly receptive crowd. I daresay they will be playing Sydney again and in a bigger venue next time. - FasterLouder.com.au

Once again that mysterious mineral that bestows music genius to whoever who drinks it and is found only in the water of Perth has provided a band with the skills to deliver one of the most beautiful albums to come from an Australian band. The Autumn Isles second EP, 'Wish Lists & Sunken Lands' contains a string of songs that would have sounded at home on any of The Beach Boys' chart topping albums. I haven't heard an Aussie band deliver such a beautiful sounding EP in a while, with psychedelic tracks like 'It's Been A While' making you wish you could have been around the 60s to enjoy other music like this. 'A Gift To You' is some of the sweetest pop-rock you'll ever hear while 'Murky Water' is organ driven pop that can only be described as unique Australian summer music. 'I Read About It' again takes you back to the 60s while 'The Drastic Change' is a beautiful song that contains melodies that simply have to be heard to be believed. The Autumn Isles have opened for artists such as Bob Evans, Josh Pyke, Architecture In Helsinki, Dappled Cities and Machine Transalations, but on the back of an EP like this, they will soon be the headline themselves. To put it in plain terms 'Wish List & Sunken Lands' is one of the finest EPs around at the moment. - XPress Magazine

The Autumn Isles have some damn swinging tunes that just beg to be danced to. They come across as a very professional outfit, and its refreshing to hear such a clean and well organised sound. I locked onto drummer Russell Loasby. He plays like he was born on a drum stool, sticks in hand ready to rock and roll;pushes and chases the songs to great heights - FasterLouder.com

It's an interesting lineup The Autumn Isles have, and for this album they've brought with then an equally interesting array of guest musicians that provide some nice textures to an already layered sound. The Autumn Isles have always been good at making pop music with a smile on its face, carrying on a Perth tradition typified by the likes of Turnstyle, but Wish Lists & Sunken Lands has a more global tradition in its music, which (more or less) takes lessons learned by The Beatles and gives them a modern twist. Alex Arpino's vocals are controlled without being caged, which adds a nice dimension of calmness to this batch of songs ? most of which are up-tempo and full of joy. There are moments that contradict this description, of course, but The Autumn Isle have managed to add variety without resorting to a "black or white" approach - that is , they add darker textures to otherwise bright songs (or vice versa), rather than going completely one way or the other. The production team of Shaun O'Callaghan and Laurie Sinagra have served The Autumn Isles well here, taking already-pleasant songs and giving them the smoothness they require to be a full package. Basically, all boxes are ticked with this little pearler
- Mike Wafer - XPress magazine

The Autumn Isles are the sort of band that make people nostalgic for a time they never actually lived in . The male lead and female backing vocals lent a dreamy The Mamas And Papas feel. Tight and airy, Autumn Isles have got it down pat - Xpress Magazine

The Autumn Isles are the sort of band that make people nostalgic for a time they never actually lived in . The male lead and female backing vocals lent a dreamy The Mamas And Papas feel. Tight and airy, Autumn Isles have got it down pat - Xpress Magazine