8/10

Over the last few years, Oxford-based outfit Low Island have been slowly growing their devout fanbase. With a string of highly-praised and captivating releases in an almost never-ending conveyor belt approach, the band have built an aesthetic and direction that sets them apart from much of what we hear day-to-day, and presents them up as one of the most interesting and intriguing names working today. And after months of previewing this new collection, they now unveil their long-awaited debut album 'If You Could Have It All Again', a record that cements them as your next favourite band.

From the very start, 'If You Could Have It All Again' confronts us with this bold and dynamic sound. While known mainly for their art-rock-esque compositions, this new collection also manages to fit in a menagerie of hard and thunderous cuts that keep them from being compared to other Oxford alumni such as Radiohead and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, despite the acts also being clear influences of them. This diverse and eclectic style is a major factor in the successful sound of this release, giving it a strong and dynamic intention that never falls stale, yet still manages to stay cohesive enough to keep our attention throughout.

It may have been a long time coming, but this first full-length is an incredibly dense and enjoyable work. Bringing together much of their material to date, hearing it all back-to-back shows off their creative vigour from start to finish, and delivers a smooth and effervescent listen that very few could live up to right now.