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Future Islands, "In Evening Air"
For their Thrill Jockey debut, this Baltimore three-piece continue to hone their signature electro-pop to new levels of clarity and focus. While looking to ‘80s synthesizer bands like OMD for inspiration is certainly a pretty common occurrence these days, Future Islands manage to make those familiar sounds seem fresh, muscular, and invigorating by departing from the blueprint in some inspired ways.
In Evening Air is likely to be most peoples' first exposure to Future Islands, but they have actually been steadily releasing material in one incarnation or another since 2003 (when they were known as Art Lord & the Self-Portraits).All those years toiling beneath the radar were clearly well-spent though, as the band’s frequent touring with fellow Wham City collective folks like Dan Deacon seems to have chiseled their songs down to their punchy essence and garnered them quite a following (the vinyl version of this album sold out with impressive speed).
Future Islands have only been a trio since 2007, but it is difficult to imagine them any other way, as the three members complement each other so perfectly that there doesn’t seem to be room for anyone else.The core elements of the band’s sound are J. Gerritt Welmers’ lush synth hooks and propulsive drum machine beats, but it is the other two members that elevate the music to something significantly more than skillfully rendered synthpop revivalism.I don’t tend to notice bass players very often in rock music, but the pared-down minimalism of Future Islands' sound pushes William Cashion’s punky strumming very much to the fore for dramatic effect.Welmers certainly does a great job crafting memorable melodies and bouncy songs, but their impact would be much blunted without Cashion’s throbbing and energetic low-end contribution.In fact, some songs ("Long Flight," for example) would still hold up beautifully even if the keyboards were removed entirely.
Front man Samuel T. Herring, however, is what truly sets the band apart from their peers.On record, his vocals are an endearingly soulful croak that imbues the songs with a ragged emotional resonance.That said, it was not until I watched a few videos and live performances that I began to fully appreciate him: he is so theatrically manic that it's like watching a Jack Black skit, but Herring isn’t joking.Or maybe he is, as the charmingly low-budget surrealism of the band’s early videos betrays an excellent sense of humor.Regardless of whether his exaggerated mannerisms are intentionally comic or not, he is undeniably fun to watch and very difficult to look away from.A singer that positively oozes charisma and heart provides the ideal foil for Welmers’ songcraft and melodic sense and Cashion’s general ballsiness.Future Islands have achieved that most elusive of qualities: excellent chemistry (coupled with the self-awareness needed to make the most of it).
In Evening Air is not quite a flawless album, as Herring sometimes errs a bit too much towards hamminess for my taste (particularly on "Tin Man").Also, the band can be a bit blunt in displaying their influences at times, most notably on "Walking Through That Door" (a forgivable crime though, since it is a great song).Nevertheless, the bulk of the songs are so catchy, well-constructed, and exuberant that I can’t help but fully embrace the album anyway (especially "An Apology").
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