For their seventh album People Who Aren’t There Anymore, Baltimore-born Future Islands take another bold step inward, unearthing their most vulnerable and visceral album to date. One that finds the indie quartet grappling with solitary yearning and reeling through the atomization of relationships stretched to their limits. Along with the record’s arrival comes a slew of 2024 tour dates, which will include a fall show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on September 18th.
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People Who Aren’t There Anymore revolves unsurprisingly around the emotional firestorm that blazes around frontman Samuel T. Herring’s arresting vocal leaps. The album’s first two tracks — “King of Sweden,” a jaunty romp through Gerrit Welmers’ effervescent synthesizers, and “The Tower,” a propulsive meditation of bass and drums supplied by William Cashion and Michael Lowry — plunge you into this inescapable riptide of heartache.
At the center of that current is the poignant imagery of one person separated from another, an ocean rapidly expanding between them, the shoreline resembling the brink of their relationship with each passing moment. Sinking deeper into the trenches of lovelorn sorrow, Future Islands offers paced ballads like “Deep In the Night” and “Corner of My Eye,” their melodies languidly slow-dancing through the pain of being sundered from the one you love.
Like wrestling with the tides, their songs pinpoint the vain desperation that grips those wavering between giving up and moving on. “Say Goodbye,” writhes with earnest but fading hope that reunion is enough to rejuvenate what’s been lost: “I’ll be alright when you’re on my time,” Herring murmurs like a mantra. Both “Give Me the Ghost Back” and “The Thief” reckon with his fear that he’s been thrust back into a never-ending cycle of unmoored connection.
However, it wouldn’t be a Future Islands record if it didn’t glow with some earnest hope. Despite the futility, “The Fight” rallies around not the inability to let go but rather a resolute desire to hold onto one another — for as long as we can — even if it’s all destined to fall apart. The soaring contemplations of “Peach” encapsulate that spirit with its affirmation that, for all of life’s aches and pains, it’s still harder to lie down and give in than to keep slugging through it all.
With People Who Aren’t There Anymore, Future Islands once again creates a stirring collection of kinetic and relatable music. For almost two decades, the band has consistently delivered sonic creations that speak to the soul while making your feet shimmy across the floor. Even when you can’t understand what Herring is so vividly singing through his signature vocals, you can feel his passion. That raw vulnerability is what always keeps us coming back for more.
Words: Steven Ward
Catch Future Islands on tour and experience their new album live. The band has a Los Angeles stop at the Shrine Auditorium on Wednesday, September 18th.
Visit Future Islands on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Future Islands tour
6/19/24 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA
6/20/24 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY
6/21/24 – Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA
6/23/24 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
6/24/24 – Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts – Raleigh, NC
6/25/24 – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA
6/27/24 – Brooklyn Bowl – Nashville, TN
6/28/24 – Auditorium Theatre – Chicago, IL
6/29/24 – Palace Theatre – St Paul, MN
7/1/24 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
7/2/24 – Royal Oak Music Theater – Detroit, MI
7/4/24 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
7/6/24 – MTelus – Montreal, QC
9/11/24 – Malkin Bowl – Vancouver, BC
9/13/24 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
9/14/24 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
9/15/24 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
9/17/24 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
9/18/24 – Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA
9/19/24 – The Sound – Del Mar, CA
9/21/24 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ
9/22/24 – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing – Santa Fe, NM
9/24/24 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO
9/26/24 – ACL Live at The Moody Theater – Austin, TX
9/27/24 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
9/28/24 – Longhorn Ballroom – Dallas, TX
3/16/24 – Teatro Studio – Guadalajara, Mexico
3/17/24 – Vive Latino Festival – Mexico City, Mexico
3/19/24 – Centro de Convenciones Barranco – Lima, Peru
3/21/24 – Estereo Picnic Festival – Bogota, Colombia
5/12/24 – La Riviera – Madrid, Spain
5/13/24 – Sala Razzmatazz – Barcelona, Spain
5/15/24 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, Norway
5/17/24 – Annexet – Stockholm, Sweden
5/18/24 – KB Hallen – Copenhagen, Denmark
5/19/24 – Grobe Freiheit 36- Hamburg, Germany
5/21/24 – Tempodrom – Berlin, Germany
5/22/24 – Carlswerk Victoria – Cologne, Germany
5/23 – 5/26/24 – Bearded Theory – South Derbyshire, UK
5/25/24 – Live at Leeds in The Park – Leeds, UK
7/26/24 – Latitude Festival – Southwold, UK
7/27/24 – Crystal Palace Bowl – London, UK
7/28/24 – Bristol Beacon – Bristol, UK
7/30/24 – Kelvingrove Bandstand – Glasgow, UK
7/31/24 – City Hall – Newcastle, UK
8/2/24 – OFF Festival – Katowice, Poland
8/4/24 – All Together Now – Waterford, Ireland
8/5/24 – Lokerse Festival – Lokeren, Belgium
Listen to People Who Aren’t There Anymore the new album from Future Islands below!
