Chill and laid-back, “Island in the Sun” is the softer side to Weezer’s Green Album, a retreat from heavier guitars to fantasizing about running away with a special someone to some sunny island. In a review of underrated Weezer songs, The AV Club called the song “sweet and innocently hopeful” and said that it justified comparisons between frontman Rivers Cuomo and Brian Wilson. In 2013, Rolling Stone rated the song the 46th best summer song of all time. The song was also featured in a 2006 episode of The Simpsons entitled “The Wettest Stories Ever Told”.

“Island in the Sun” was one of the last songs Mikey Welsh worked on as the bass guitar player for Weezer before he left after having repeated mental breakdowns while on tour.