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Future Islands

 113

Future Islands


 

Future Islands

For years, this synth-pop band from Baltimore (who formed in 2006) were one of the best kept secrets in the indie-world. The band built up their own fan base the old-fashion way: self-recording and self-releasing a handful of CD-Rs, splits, and cassettes before they began working with a producer on a proper debut. What’s crazy is that it would take the band four albums and eight years before they really came to prominence. That’s at least when I became a fan, in 2014, with the release of their fourth album, Singles, which featured one of the greatest songs ever written: “Seasons (Waiting on You).” The lead singer Sam Herring has the vocals of Morrissey (who they toured with as an opening act) and stage presence of The Riddler. There’s a reason their performance on David Letterman went viral. Herring considers himself a writer and performer first and a singer last, having said, “Those are the things that are most important to me- that I perform well and write something that will stand some test of time and there for people.” The lyrics certainly do that. The other band members include keyboardist Gerrit Welmers and bass guitarist William Cashion. The bands previous three albums prior to Singles were: 2008’s Wave Like Home, 2010’s In Evening Air, and 2011’s On the Water. They have released one album since they exploded and that was 2017’s The Far Field, with lead-single “Ran.” The album saw the band a bit more focused and a bit more tender, having toured their asses off for their previous album, The band recently announced their sixth album, titled As Long as You Are and shared the songs
"For Sure" and “Thrill.” If you like new-wave indie-snyth-pop you will surely like this band. If you are ever at a  music-festival- chances are these guys will be there and you would be doing yourself a disservice to not go and see the magic that is a Future Island's set. Here’s a great Rolling Stone article on the band if you would like to dig deeper into their history and get a better idea of the heartache and soulfulness of lead singer Herring. If you find your heart aching while your ears are vibin’…

It’s…

Future Islands

 

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