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For a few years now, Islands have been working on perfecting a skewed, fascinating take on pop music. But this fall, the band will have its work cut out for it, holding down the opening slot for two of the defining straight-up pop bands of the last three decades. Between them, craggy-voiced London new wavers the Psychedelic Furs and Madchester survivors in the Happy Mondays have at least one box set's worth of great songs. Opening for these two bands, as Islands will be doing, has to be both an honor and a challenge.

Over the next few months, Islands have a pretty extensive North American tour lined up. They'll play some shows opening for the Furs and the Mondays, and they'll headline plenty more, many of them with former Be Your Own Pet frontwoman Jemina Pearl.