Every dog has its day and thanks in part to a frenzied Letterman performance and seven years of hard work, grit-wave band Future Islands is finally having theirs. Fresh off of their latest release, Singles (seriously: every track is a hit), the Baltimore-based trio will be trekking to the High Noon Saloon this Thursday night. I spoke with their synth-wizard Gerrit Welmers in anticipation of their set, which you do not want to miss. I repeat: you DO NOT want to miss this show.
Your last two albums, In Evening Air and On the Water, were very thematic, front-to-back pieces. What the themes were you shooting for on Singles?
“The big theme with Singles is that there is no theme! With In Evening Air and On the Water we tried to make circular albums where each song leads into the next — and you can start it over when it ends. With Singles, we didn’t think about putting a theme on it… we just wanted to make an album.”
You had previously released records on Thrill Jockey, but Singles will be put out by 4AD. What changes came with the label swap?
“The biggest change was that we had more time. On the Water was recorded between tours, and was written in the studio. We maybe had six songs finished beforehand and we wrote the other five while we were there. There wasn’t even a break in tours between In Evening Air and On the Water. For Singles we’ve had this whole past year to just take our time, write a lot of songs, and pick and choose which ones were going to make the album.”
Amidst all the tours, have you developed a pre-show ritual?
“We do this thing now where we have a little pow-wow before each set… but we just really like playing shows.”
Based on your performances at this year’s grueling SXSW, that does seem to be pretty true.
“SXSW was excellent. We had a really good time with the shows… and the reviews… We won this Grulke Award for Developing U.S. Act. It was a total success.”
Speaking of success, your Letterman performance from early this month seems to have taken on a life of its own.
“We were talking to the label going into it, and we asked, ‘What comes from playing on late night TV?’ And they said, ‘Well, it’s a really good opportunity for a lot of people to see you — but as far as album sales and that kind of stuff goes, the numbers don’t really change.
“But our performance seemed to explode. Everyone’s mind at the label was just blown. They’re all, ‘We haven’t… this has never happened!’ The YouTube views continue to rise daily. It’s crazy.”