Said The Whale released Islands Disappear, on October 13, 2009 via Hidden Pony Records/EMI. Produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, Mother Mother) and Tom Dobrzanski, the album draws on the experience of driving across Canada, from the van breaking down in Manitoba (“Dear Elkhorn”) to camping in Alberta (“Emerald Lake, AB’). The album’s first single, “Camilo (The Magician),” with its gritty powerchords and sunny powerpop chorus, was dubbed the “song of the summer” by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3, while the track “Emerald Lake, AB” was given the CBC Bucky Award for Most Canadian Song. In July, the band teamed up with Hannah Georgas, Jeremy Fisher and Aidan Knight to form the super-group, The Malahat Revue, and toured Vancouver Island by bicycle playing nine shows over the course of 12 days and 500 km. Most recently, the band embarked on an acoustic “busking” tour of local Vancouver high schools, raising $3500 to support MusiCounts – Canada’s music education charity associated with CARAS.