Skip to content
Premieres

Islands Mockumentary Casts Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Bill Hader

Islands Michael Cera Alia Shawkat Bill Hader Ski Mask Video

Islands released their fifth album Ski Mask on September 17, and it’s a record that finds the band looking inward. To wit, early share “Wave Forms” featured main brain Nicholas Thorburn openly musing about quitting the ever-shifting group he founded after the Unicorns dissolved. “This record is really about being angry,” he said in a statement. “For better or worse, this record kind of sums up my experience thus far with being in a band.”

Well, a brand new mockumentary seen above sums up that band’s experience, albeit in a manner that plays hilariously fast and loose with the truth. The clip comes courtesy of the JASH YouTube network and stars Michael Cera as a former bandmate, Bill Hader as Islands’ manager, Alia Shawkat as a serial killer’s daughter, and The State alum Joe Lo Truglio as a music critic, among others. In addition to baldfaced lies, they share non-specific truths that sound important.

“You got a guy with a voice who’s singing lyrics out to you,” says Hader with extra emphasis. One fella describes how hearing the album saved his life, while Cera lets us know that, “It’s the kind of record where people definitely shit their pants, and me included … I just do it in my own way.” Thorburn and Cera have actually played in a band together in real life — the Sub Pop-signed Mister Heavenly, which included members of Man Man and the Shins.

Enjoy that short above and find out where Islands stand amongst such peers as Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker, and Matchbox 20. Ski Mask is out now on Thorburn’s own Manque imprint, and the band is currently touring:

Islands tour dates:

September 25 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room
September 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
September 27 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
October 08 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
October 09 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
October 10 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
October 11 – Detroit, MI @ The Loving Touch
October 12 – Madison, WI @ Der Rathskeller
October 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
October 14 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
October 16 – Washington, DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
October 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
October 20 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom