| ““What Do You Gotta Lose?” is a song about hoping for a better tomorrow. I’ve personally dealt with suicidal thoughts in my life and I’ve met a lot of fans that have as well. If suicide could save our lives, we’d all have done that by now. It doesn’t. It only ends the possibility of it getting better. This song is a plea to anyone that hears it to hold on. Joy comes in the morning.” – Mikey
Critically-acclaimed, heavy rock band Islander have released a new track entitled
“What Do You Gotta Lose?” via Better Noise Music.
Check it out here
https://islander.ffm.to/wdygl
The song is a natural next step in the band’s sonic journey, mixing deeply personal songwriting with loud, infectious production. With lyrics like “Take back the years that you’ve wasted/ Don’t fear tomorrow just face it/ What do you gotta lose?/ You can’t escape the truth,” the new track is a powerful anthem about moving forward in the face of mental health challenges.
The band also released an accompanying artistic visual, produced by 12 Inch Media, featuring the stunning artwork imagery from John Wellman. In partnership with the mental health awareness non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms, the video points viewers to resources for anyone dealing with anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts. In 2020 alone, TWLOHA reached more than 10 million people monthly and shared over 123 stories of mental health and healing through their blog, podcast, and LIVE events. They also invested more than $205,000 into treatment and recovery to help sponsor 2,600 individual counseling sessions and support 6,480 hours of group therapy for 673 people.
Of this partnership, Chad Moses, Director of Outreach and Experience at To Write Love on Her Arms, said, “This past year has taken so much away from so many people. It has stolen the chance to make memories, a sense of security, hugs, high-fives, and opportunities to be vulnerable. I think it’s going to take some time and some frequent reminders to recall the truth that we were never expected to get through life alone. Every day we wake up is an invitation to live in the presence of others — friends, family, counselors, co-workers; and no disease, circumstance, or challenge waives your right to personal connection. I hear that message so clearly in this new Islander track. Regardless of what you are walking through, there is a place for you here. You belong here, and you are in good company.”
Earlier this year, Islander further set the tone for their vulnerable music path, calling for empathy and connecting with their ever-growing global fanbase with the release of their deeply personal song “The Outsider”. It’s a tribute to why the band gravitated towards rock music in the first place and a reminder to let anyone feeling like an outcast know that they have a place in the community of listeners that the group has formed. They’re currently creating more music to release, solidifying their unique ability to offer meditative art in the craziness of the world.
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ABOUT ISLANDER
Islander understands that complacency is the deadly enemy of progress. The South Carolina band — Mikey Carvajal, Chris Carvajal, and Erik Shea — refuses to grow stagnant with time by challenging themselves to evolve continually. No two singles are alike, yet the group finds a way to make the combination of their vast influences work together in a manner unlike anyone else. You cannot call what Islander does rock or rap or even nu-metal. They make music that moves people, plain and simple, and that’s all they want to do.
“We’re a very intimate band in that I want to be there and hear people’s stories,” says Mikey Carvajal. I’m not in this to be a rockstar. If that were ever the case, and it were about money or fame, I just wouldn’t do it. I’m only here because I genuinely love people, and I want to see them do good in their lives. I want us to continue to spread love, hopefully on a higher level than before.”
Now a decade into a career built with that mission in mind, Islander continues to grow a global fanbase. The band writes from a place of love and empathy channeled into raucous music that can incite mosh pits and comfort those who feel alone. It’s a delicate balance between chaos and focused effort that only Islander can perfect, and it’s because of that combination that the group remains one of the most versatile names in entertainment today.
“If you speak about real things, they will remain relevant,” says Carvajal. “We all have skin and bones and blood. We’re all human beings trying to make it in this world. The most important thing is being there for people, and our music allows us to do that.”
Islander heads into the new year with high hopes and a bevy of material. Four years of writing and recording has given the band their most diverse and collaborative music to date. From the rallying cries of “Freedom” to the meditative flow of “Crazy Crazy World” and beyond, Islander is creating a space for listeners to process the madness of today and find hope for a better tomorrow.
ABOUT TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. Since its start in 2006, they have donated over $2.7 million directly into treatment and recovery and have answered over 210,000 emails from over 100 countries, and traveled more than 3.8 million miles to meet people face-to-face at nearly 3,000 events. Each month, they connect with 10 million people online through social media and their FIND HELP Tool fields 5,000 searches made by people seeking affordable, local mental health resources. |
