Remember when Future Islands did Seasons (Waiting on You) on Letterman and everyone freaked out about how compelling it was? Well, the band's done it again, this time on Later with Jools Holland. Unfortunately, the BBC disallowed the video posted to YouTube, before I finished this post. Sad face.
At any rate, I have been listening to the band's newest album Singles obsessively lately. I don't hear hipster irony, I hear a band that proudly uses 80s synth sounds. "Hey, this sounds like pan pipes!" "Cool!" No guitar, but a bass player that sometimes makes Peter Hook-type sounds. A raspy singer that oftens croons and sometimes lets out a death-metal cookie monster growl.
And if you watch the videos below, they cannot be unwatched. Singer Samuel T. Herring is an intense front man who manages to seem sincere and dramatic. He doesn't have a beard or wear cool clothes, he's not thin but his hair is thinning - he's like an anti-pop star. Something about his often-lower, gruff voice and his great cleft chin reminds me of Huey Lewis and his unlikely transformation into momentary celebrity.
Here's that Letterman clip:
A little intro to the band:
More from that show, "Back in the Tall Grass" / "Seasons (Waiting On You)" / "A Dream of You and Me".
Balance
Tomorrow
Back in the Tall Grass
A Song for our Grandfathers
A Dream of You and Me
Doves (Vince Clarke Remix)
Tin Man
Before the Bridge
Walking Through That Door
Inch of Dust
Little Dreamer
Cotton Flower
Vireo's Eye
Where I Found You
Heart Grows Old
Find Love
The Great Fire
On The Water
Long Flight
Give Us the Wind
In the Fall (Future Islands w/ Katrina Ford)
The Happiness of Being Twice
Like the Moon
Old Friend
Grease
Seize a Shark
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