Future Islands - In Evening Air

The second long-player from the newly slimmed-down Baltimore three-piece is a quietly self-assured piece of work. J. Gerrit Welmers, William Cashion and Samuel T. Herring have been steadily forging their sound since 2003, and under the Future Islands banner since 2006. Baltimore has offered up a great array of cultural morsels to feast on in recent years: The Wire, of course, is the most notable of these; and it would be tantamount to critical suicide (on these pages at least) to neglect to mention Beach House; the (er) inimitable Montel Williams is arguably next on this list; and, with In Evening Air, Future Islands is a name that deserves to be added to that roll call.

The trio’s debut, Wave Like Home – released on UK label Upset The Rhythm in 2008 – somehow managed to slide under many a radar. If In Evening Air feels immediately less frenetic than its predecessor, it retains all of the urgent charm of that record, and distils the band’s graduated panorama of light and dark into a tidy yet unsettling package. This record is something of a homecoming – the group’s first proper US album release on the renowned Thrill Jockey label, it represents a honing of their (self-proclaimed) ‘post-wave’ sound. Synthesized soundscapes, bleeding and distorted around the edges, are fused with anxious and emotional percussion, whilst Herring’s growling, melodramatic vocals lead the merry march. 

From the first thumping beat and wavering chord of ‘Walking Through That Door’, In Evening Air throws its arms wide open to encase you in its feverish and at once fragile grip – think Joy Division meets Memory Tapes. Immediate draws include ‘Long Flight’, a punchy tale of love soured, and the sweet indie lullaby ‘Swept Inside’.

It is within the contrasts and fractures of this record that its true beauty lies, however. Tender storytelling pitched against terse gothic caricature pieces reveals the emotional range and maturity of a band that deserves more attention than they have been paid thus far. The psychedelic ice-cream van synth of single ‘Tin Man’ lures you into a theatrical world wherein Herring’s vocal really packs a punch. To my own great annoyance, his style has been described elsewhere as indescribable, a move akin to founding an anarchists’ union. For me, Herring is of the stage, his voice encapsulating tragedy and comedy in a slightest turn. Whether a whisper, rumble or a roar, it’s certainly never disingenuous or without context, and cements the cohesive aural journey on which the threesome have set to lead you. Some of this drama is best seen on the thrusting ‘Inch of Dust’, a track Bowie would have sold his drum and bass period for. 

Dust down your wallet: In Evening Air gives you good bang for your buck. Much more than the sum of its constituent parts, Future Islands have delivered another triumph for B’more. Watch out, Montel!