It’s a reliable music industry trope: the breakthrough that becomes a millstone.
For Future Islands, it might have arrived with their performance of Seasons (Waiting on You) on Letterman back in 2014. The clip, powered by Samuel T. Herring’s inimitable, meme-ready dancing, shoved the band into the internet limelight, sent ‘Singles’, the band’s fourth album, into the upper echelons of the Billboard 200 and mapped out a possible future where any new single is accompanied by an identikit video of their vocalist strutting his stuff.
But it didn’t kill Future Islands, and that was the case for a couple of reasons. Firstly, as a band with an existing, if smaller, fanbase they were able to take their new-found audience in their stride. Secondly, Seasons was one of, not the highlight on the record.
‘Singles’ took the band’s soul-searching synth-pop to new heights both commercially and critically, meaning that its follow up, ‘The Far Field’ arrives with anticipation behind it rather than the flop sweat of a last chance.
And it weathers that anticipation well. There was never a realistic fear that the band, this far into their career, would seek to cash in OK Go-style on their popularity, but there is a rich vein of introspection here that pushes them well clear of any sort of empty gesture.
Herring rakes over the coals of broken relationships, finding fresh questions in the past that must be addressed in the present. “What’s a song without you?” he sings on Ran, the record’s first single. “When every song I write is about you? When I can’t hold myself without you and I can’t change the day I found you."
Away from the lyric sheet, Herring’s versatile, perma-wounded vocals are again the focal point, but William Cashion’s basslines heft the singer on their shoulders so that the crowd can better see him. He doesn’t so much spar with Herring and keyboard player Gerrit Welmers as allow them to go off-piste by keeping things ticking over. Without him, Future Islands would be adrift.
To say that there’s nothing new here is, technically, true. ‘The Far Field’ sounds absolutely like you’d expect a new Future Islands release to sound. But when Herring gets into some stuff and decides to let you know how he feels, or when Welmers lights up one of those soaring leads, it’s hard to avoid getting swept up. That’s where their power lies, not in a pixelated gif.
Future Islands Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu April 27 2017 - GLASGOW Barrowland Ballroom
Fri April 28 2017 - LEEDS Leeds University Union
Sat April 29 2017 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Sun April 30 2017 - BRIGHTON Dome Concert Hall
Tue May 02 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Wed May 03 2017 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Thu June 22 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Sat July 01 2017 - CAMBRIDGE Cambridge Corn Exchange
Mon July 03 2017 - LIMERICK Dolans Warehouse
Tue July 04 2017 - CORK Opera House
Wed July 05 2017 - GALWAY Black Box
Thu July 06 2017 - DUBLIN Iveagh Gardens
Click here to compare & buy Future Islands Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
