ALBUM REVIEWS
Future Islands have long blended moments of bliss and ecstasy with heartbreak. They thrive in this gap: the thoroughline of Baltimore band’s music is that their transcendent, New Wave-inspired songs have a tendency to end with a positive resolution, even if it doesn’t quite look that way in the beginning. The prevailing mood is of self-belief.
Having emerged in the early 2010s, some of the quartet’s biggest singles – particularly the masterful ‘Seasons (Waiting On You)’, which NME declared the best song of 2014 – continue to soundtrack exhilarating highs, both on-screen and at festivals across the globe. Most recently, the track was used in Season Two of British LGBTQ+ comedy Big Boys, heightening the emotion and romance of a pivotal scene that depicted the overwhelming feelings that emerge as a new relationship begins to cement itself.
Cynicism, therefore, has traditionally been absent in the world of Future Islands. Yet on the band’s seventh LP ‘People Who Aren’t There Anymore’, themes of divorce, grief and desperation loom large, inspired by breakups that both lead vocalist Samuel T Herring and bassist William Cashion have recently gone through. It feels appropriate that they would emerge from a period of personal upheaval with tracks that consider the cathartic potential of change, then. Album highlight ‘Thief’, a true meeting of music and message, pairs breathless confessions with a kinetic percussion section. “The pain is never ending / But I’m forgiving, at least,” Herring sings.
‘Peach’, ‘The Tower’ and ‘Say Goodbye’ are all classic Future Islands offerings, using upbeat textures from ‘80s pop and roaring to life off the back of a muscular groove or drum kick. The effect is warm but unshakably familiar, and it means that individual moments shine a little less: only the dusky atmospherics of ‘Deep In The Night’ feel like a true outlier here.
There’s no question that Herring still writes songs capable of evoking strong emotions, but this time around they can occasionally feel too twinkly and repetitive. What’s missing is some risk-taking; unpredictable production flourishes that could better reflect the overall mood of the album and all the ambiguities that accompany a major life change.
That’s why ‘People Who Aren’t There Anymore’ just falls short of its goal of becoming a transformative record for the band. It has its winning moments – ‘Iris’ pulls off a tricky balance of being irresistibly catchy and yet moving – but as big new beginnings go, Future Islands deliver a streamlined version.
ALBUM REVIEWS
2024 has been a big year for Lip Critic, who are well on their way to becoming one of the next great New York bands. The quartet – comprising Bret Kaser, Connor Kleitz, Daniel Eberle and Ilan Natter – have spent the past half-decade building a loyal and sizeable hometown following that has, in recent months, caught the attention of music fans across the other side of the Atlantic.
Lip Critic make music that is both freewheeling and fun – with a thrillingly dark, Frankenstein-esque edge to their sound and aesthetic. They have played alongside rappers, hardcore bands and dance acts – and toured with IDLES and Geese – with NME describing their live show as “a pulsating rush of energy” in a five-star review last November. “You never know what sound is going to pop up next – our focus is to not get pinned down into a set of aesthetics, but to stay nimble” Kaser previously told us.
Opener ‘It’s The Magic’ bursts into life with a set of heavy 808s followed by contrasting rhythms. “I told them take their grace / And send it where it came / Only the generous get to live another day,” Kaser sings, evoking a sense of danger. ‘The Heart’ follows, diving headfirst dives into skittish, almost anxiety-inducing drum patterns – it’s wild and brilliantly unnerving.
’Bork Pelly (featuring Gösh and ID.Sus)’ is a perfect fusion of The Prodigy and ’90s hip-hop influences. ‘Death Lurking’ (featuring Izzy Da Fonseca), meanwhile, offers a change of pace, an atmospheric number that builds into a skippy beat fit for headbanging.
Throughout ‘Hex Dealer’, Lip Critic prove why they are the band of the moment. A full-on, disruptive force emerging from their city’s underground scene – their music rides high on a bolt of infectious energy.
