Despite their having been around for a few years now, this is the first I had heard of Future Islands.
The opening bars of 'Tin Man' didn't exactly enthrall me, suggesting as they do slightly generic synthy indie dream-pop. But then the vocals come in and they're anything but generic. The music might still be synthy indie dream pop, but there's a compelling eccentricity about the smoothness of the instrumentation and the roughness and gravel of the vocals that render this most distinctive. There's also a big fuzzed-out guitar in the mix toward the end that brings some beef to the party.
'Virgo Districts' draws elements of Curesque pop and 80s synth pop (given that the current fashion is for 80s-influenced synth pop, perhaps that should be 'contemporary synth pop' or 'contemporetro synth pop' or something) and hammers it together with a piledriving drum. Again, it's Samuel T Herring's vocals that really draw the attention. Allegedly described as 'one of the most magnetic frontmen in indie rock,' his range is not inconsiderable, and on here it's gruff, almost barking in places, and with what sounds like a Scandinavian or Germanic accent.
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Sweeping, expansive syths drift like dry ice over a distant crashing snare of the variety that used to populate every power ballad and slower synth pop number in the days when Ultravox were big chart news on the title track. Here, Herring adopts an appropriately smoother, more understated vocal style to good effect. Meanwhile, 'Awake Dreaming' is spaced out and borders on experimental, with the addition of a flanged / chorused bass and more quirky Tom Waits-y vocals.
Probably an acquired taste, but certainly unique and not without merit.
http://www.myspace.com/futureislands
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