Future Islands and their 2014 breakthrough album Singles was pretty much crack to me all of last year. Since a life-affirming set at Splendour In The Grass, I’ve been pretty much here tearing my hair out and screaming at inanimate objects, absolutely fiending for any fix I can get.
Record Store Day provided that sweet, synthy release, with the Baltimore trio putting out their newest recording, The Chase.
Recorded straight to vinyl in just a single take at Abbey Road Studios, there is but one solitary vinyl copy placed in a random record store in the UK for some lucky bastard to find, which is pretty bloody cool.
The song itself is what you can usually expect from Future Islands, a clever synth hook and a driving bassline and backbeat with vocalist and dancer extraordinaire Samuel T. Herring’s inimitable voice pulling all the strings, his vocal range on display as he sings about the confusion between feelings of real love or a simple love of ‘the chase’.
I guess what I really love about this band is their ability to touch upon so many themes and emotions that resonate incredibly strongly with me. I can attach a lot of their songs to a personal experience or situation and The Chaseis another of those songs.
More Future Islands please, immediately.