by Phil Scarisbrick

It’s been some three years since we last got a new record from Baltimore-based synthpop quartet, Future Islands. Since the release of The Far Field, frontman Samuel T. Herring has released a hip-hop album under his Hemlock Ernst alias, while bassist Willian Cashion put out an ambient record, Postcard Music, under his own name. The band regrouped at the tail end of 2019, playing seven new tracks at a nightclub gig in Northampton, Massechusetts. Now we get to hear the first fruits from the new studio sessions as they unveil new single, For Sure.

Featuring Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner on backing vocals, the song is quintessentially Future Islands, but doesn’t feel like a backward or even sideways step. Rhythmic synth stabs interlock with another effortlessly toe-tapping bass groove – before exploding into life for a emotively ear-grabbing chorus. Sam T’s voice has never sounded better – and there is an air of aging about it – but this weathering just adds character to an already distinct delivery. Wasner’s vocals also add a smooth glaze to his sharp lead.

Although they’re a band who make music to a certain formula, it doesn’t necessarily make their music predicatble. Some moments of The Far Field did fall into the forgettable category, but when the now four piece get it right, it is utterly joyous. There is no word on when we’ll get to hear the full longplayer, but with a new single let loose into the world, as well as the new material debuted last year, it can’t be far off. If this track is a sign of things to come, then we can definitely get excited by what we’re about to hear.

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