Islands' Nick Thorburn and Ratata's Mike Stroud Form The Creem, Share First Songs

In news that would absolutely delight this writer circa 2009, Nick Thorburn ( Islands and The Unicorns ) and Mike Stroud ( Ratatat ) have joined forces for a new band, The Creem.

So, just how did this seemingly unlikely duo come together in the first place? As Thorburn told Flood Magazine , it all surprisingly dates back some 20 years.

“I’d actually emailed the Ratatat account back in 2006, asking if Mike would be willing to play guitar on an Islands tour,” Thorburn said. “I had assumed Ratatat had broken up and was in need of an extra guitar. I was a fan of Ratatat from the beginning and even referenced the melody to their song ‘Cherry’ on the first Islands album.”

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Eventually, the duo did finally connect, and they spent some time a few years back working on a song that would eventually lay the foundation for The Creem.

“I went to Mike’s studio in the Catskills, where he produced an Islands song,” Thorburn said. “We got along so well, musically and otherwise, that when Mike shared some incomplete songs, asking if I’d be interested in collaborating, I jumped at the chance.”

And we won’t have to wait long to, um, taste The Creem as the pair’s debut album, A Taste of Cherry , will be released on June 5th. In the meantime, the newly-minuted duo have shared two of the album’s 10 songs, “Goodbye” and the title track. The former is a big, bold ’70s pop anthem for the newly-broken-hearted. The latter, meanwhile, is more space-funk-meets-pop, as if David Bowie randomly joined ELO. Listen to both songs below.

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“Goodbye”:

“Taste of Cherry”:

A Taste of Cherry Artwork:

A Taste of Cherry Tracklist:

01. Goodbye

02. Goldmine

03. Hard To Pretend

04. Paraphernalia

05. Augur

06. Country Home

07. Taste Of Cherry

08. Never Hear The End Of It

09. Rushing

10 . Circles

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/05/islands-ratatat-form-the-creem-new-songs/)._