Baltimore's finest return for their third full length album and confirm their status as one of the finest bands on the planet right now.
It is my contention that Samuel T. Herring could make even the soppiest lyric sound like a profound insight into the human condition. It takes a certain courage and confidence to pull off a melodramatic line like "if things had stayed the same, I would have carried you as far as the sky" but he does just this on the album's standout track Before The Bridge.
There's always a literate (and literary) romanticism to the lyrics but there's nothing sentimental about the opening lines of this great song:"And I will walk you home / And I will leave you there / I'll take the books you stole /And leave a heart that bears this"
Like many of the best vocalists, Herring's singing style is an acquired taste, but if you are prepared to make the required sensory adjustment the rewards are many. What's great about him is that there's always the feeling that he is making a genuine emotional engagement with the song. His astonishing range is such that he is howling at the moon one minute and soliloquising meekly the next.
This album was largely conceived in a house built in the early 1900s on the historic waterfront of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Glimpses of the house and location can be seen the marvellous video to Before The Bridge directed by Abe Sanders. This was originally home to Andrew S.Sanders, Abe's uncle, who ran the shipyard across the street. Sounds of the sea and the clanking of moored boats feature on the album to add a nautical atmosphere.
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The rest of musical ambience is served up by William Cashion on bass and Gerrit Welmers on synthesizer.On The Great Fire, Jenn Wasner of the duo Wye Oak is the guest vocalist where her assured, and relatively conventional voice making a neat contrast to Herring's tragic growl.
Love and loss are the overriding themes of the album such as on the mellow Where I Found You : "I remember your smile , the smell of your skin". These emotions and memories are closely tied in with the inevitability and necessity of change.
The track Balance is founded on the notion that it takes time, patience and hard work to make things work. The trio certainly practice what they preach as these qualities are evident in the care and attention that has gone into this record. It is certainly not an album that aims to make an impact on first hearing.
It probably needs one more killer track to make it an out and out classic but there are moments of great beauty here and it is guaranteed to restore your faith in Indie rock.
"I hope the moon is listening".
Future Islands' Website
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