dude lost a lot of lbs and seems very excited about the possibilities of newfound bendiness
― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 11 March 2014 03:52 (ten years ago) link
or maybe just the possibilities of a wide stage
― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 11 March 2014 03:55 (ten years ago) link
strongly disagree—I am much more interested in a critic who writes "he emphasizes individual words, or parts of words, in a way that detracts from the melody and merely reiterates the sentiments already present in the lyrics" than one who settles for "he over-emotes"― merciless to accomplish the truth in his intelligence (bernard snowy), Monday, 10 March 2014 18:27 (Yesterday) PermalinkYou realize there is a beautiful bit of metonymy to that post― continually topping myself (flamboyant goon tie included), Monday, 10 March 2014 18:31 (Yesterday) Permalink
― merciless to accomplish the truth in his intelligence (bernard snowy), Monday, 10 March 2014 18:27 (Yesterday) Permalink
You realize there is a beautiful bit of metonymy to that post
― continually topping myself (flamboyant goon tie included), Monday, 10 March 2014 18:31 (Yesterday) Permalink
(and this is the last time I wanna talk about anything on this thread besides how great Future Islands are)
... the ideal critic would be one who, if pressed, could expand the latter judgment into the former set of verifiable observations.
― merciless to accomplish the truth in his intelligence (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 11 March 2014 11:13 (ten years ago) link
You want the barthesian ideal of a critic, you gotta pay the barthesian ideal of a critic.
― da croupier, Tuesday, 11 March 2014 13:50 (ten years ago) link
seasons (waiting on you) is on spotify now fyi
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 12 March 2014 17:17 (ten years ago) link
yyeaaaaaaah
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 12 March 2014 17:22 (ten years ago) link
I am disappointed that this thread is about a croupier rather than the new album. I need someone to help me sort out my feelings about "A Song For Our Grandfathers".
― Tim F, Wednesday, 12 March 2014 21:27 (ten years ago) link
have not heard anything outside of what is available for streaming
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 12 March 2014 21:53 (ten years ago) link
but I am excited to hear that song now
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 12 March 2014 21:54 (ten years ago) link
it is like a fairy floss of feels
― Tim F, Wednesday, 12 March 2014 22:15 (ten years ago) link
streaming!
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/16/286898446/first-listen-future-islands-singles
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Monday, 17 March 2014 15:48 (ten years ago) link
ty!
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 17 March 2014 17:13 (ten years ago) link
This song has grown on me quite a lot, it's some forgotten 80s heartland rock star decided to write a big wussy epic over the top of the opening chords to Born Slippy.
― Matt DC, Monday, 17 March 2014 17:25 (ten years ago) link
haha it does sound like the opening of born slippy
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Monday, 17 March 2014 18:35 (ten years ago) link
(nuxx)
Don't really know much about this band but that Letterman performance has got me interested. I could watch it all day.
I just streamed the album which was nice enough but a little samey. I think I'd enjoy it more if I'd watched him dancing for the entire 45 minutes. The sound of the album really reminded me of Twin Shadow which is no bad thing.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 17 March 2014 18:41 (ten years ago) link
ha!! i thought that bit sounded familiar!
― frogbs, Monday, 17 March 2014 18:42 (ten years ago) link
I applaud Matt DC's use of the word "wussy" as a +
― continually topping myself (flamboyant goon tie included), Monday, 17 March 2014 19:23 (ten years ago) link
I really like this album a lot, I know that parts of it are basically The Killers (in the Springsteen tribute years) with unusual vocal stylings but I can live that.
― boxedjoy, Monday, 17 March 2014 23:03 (ten years ago) link
Cannot stop watching that Letterman performance.
― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:47 (ten years ago) link
Really digging the album based on the stream - dunno if it's better than On the Water (which was probably my favorite of 2011) but it's up there. Agreed that it's a little samey but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There is a bit towards the end of the album that really took me by surprise. Especially if you've got the volume cranked.
― frogbs, Sunday, 23 March 2014 15:55 (ten years ago) link
On my basis of my first listen this tended towards the plodding, although I do like the single.
― Matt DC, Sunday, 23 March 2014 15:59 (ten years ago) link
― Kitchen Person
reminds me a lot of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivDRJuBszVw
― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 23 March 2014 16:13 (ten years ago) link
Was surprised by how close to mono the single is mixed. It is pretty dead center.
― timellison, Sunday, 23 March 2014 16:47 (ten years ago) link
Curious to know who mixed it. Several mixers I know have been championing a mono (or almost mono) approach recently
― continually topping myself (flamboyant goon tie included), Sunday, 23 March 2014 17:24 (ten years ago) link
agreed that this is a bit samey at first but I encourage you all to give "A Song for Our Grandfathers" another listen, it's so incredibly massive, definitely my early favorite right now
― frogbs, Monday, 24 March 2014 13:41 (ten years ago) link
my profile of the band is up: http://wonderingsound.com/feature/future-islands-interview/
― some dude, Monday, 24 March 2014 14:43 (ten years ago) link
nice work
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 24 March 2014 15:31 (ten years ago) link
This is way too samey IMO, they use a very similar sound palette throughout and they aren't distinctive enough songwriters to get past that.
― Matt DC, Monday, 24 March 2014 15:37 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, that Letterman performance. I'm kind of into that song now.
But agreed with the album, I don't think it's bad, but the production could be a lot more interesting.
― MikoMcha, Monday, 24 March 2014 21:31 (ten years ago) link
Agree with what people have said about the album. It's nice enough but doesn't blow me away. Having said that I just have to think about the Letterman performance then I want to run to a record shop, buy all their albums and then get the band name tattooed on my arm. I can't remember the last time I wanted to like an album so much more than I actually do.
How does Singles compare to their previous albums? Haven't checked those out yet.
― Kitchen Person, Monday, 24 March 2014 21:57 (ten years ago) link
I think there's decent variety in the previous albums if you want to check them out. I love the "Tomorrow" EP. I think the vocal performance on the title track is great in the way the Letterman performance is great. The extended version of "Tin Man" on "In the Fall" is great and also has a different feel. They also put out an acoustic EP called "Undressed".
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 24 March 2014 22:25 (ten years ago) link
"balance" at the top of the thread still their best imo
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Monday, 24 March 2014 22:45 (ten years ago) link
yeah, spotify agrees with you. my brother is seeing them at a pretty small venue in Grand Rapids tomorrow. I am pretty jealous.
― POO: the blossom or full flower of the evening (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 24 March 2014 22:46 (ten years ago) link
btw gr8 writeup, sd. all killer + no filler.
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Monday, 24 March 2014 23:22 (ten years ago) link
they've really paid their dues haven't they? been gigging hard for years. good to see them finally getting some payback.
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Monday, 24 March 2014 23:25 (ten years ago) link
thx!
― some dude, Monday, 24 March 2014 23:40 (ten years ago) link
yeah that was an excellent profile
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 00:00 (ten years ago) link
Four or five years ago, my old band played a festival with Future Islands at a small festival in France. We'd just gotten to the venue and were kind of snacking, decompressing from the drive, etc., in the green room, when Sam popped his head in. He was carrying a large laundry sack.
He really sweetly and enthusiastically introduced himself to all of us and said something to the effect of:
"Hey, I'm Sam. It is SO nice to meet all of you. Anyway, I was going to try and find a place to do some laundry... would any of you like me to grab your laundry and bring it back to you all clean?"
We were flabbergasted. It was the nicest gesture EVER. I still think of it often.
― Dave Depper (Davey D), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 06:50 (ten years ago) link
:D
― MikoMcha, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 09:31 (ten years ago) link
^srsly every anecdote i've heard about dude (including mine upthread) makes him sound like the best guy ever
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 12:43 (ten years ago) link
some dude i liked your point about how the letterman video is way more popular than the nicely-shot, but fairly typical video. so many director's reel-style videos out there and they're so unmoving.
― socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 13:28 (ten years ago) link
i like the video a lot but agree it doesn't play to the band's strengths.
i was actually a little disoriented seeing them live in late 2012, having only seen the video for "balance" (no shots of the band) and only one press photo briefly. i don't know what i was expecting their appearance/performance to look and feel like but it wasn't that.
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 13:34 (ten years ago) link
i don't get what was special about that letterman performance? looked like overwrought karaoke. didn't like the song or especially his terrible voice either but even so the hype around the performance seems weird
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:11 (ten years ago) link
Aside from the enormous dancing, the weirdness is in the hardcore growling he hints at on the beginnings of his phrases, then the moment of real hardcore growl at the end
― continually topping myself (flamboyant goon tie included), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:22 (ten years ago) link
the dancing is just amateur incompetence à la every dorky white dude at a wedding ever. s0 authentic
i did not think the moments of growling were that weird or confrontational or compelling but maybe growing up on tori amos just set the bar high in terms of what i expect performances of on-stage catharsis to be like
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:26 (ten years ago) link
Would love to go to a wedding where someone dances like that.
― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:28 (ten years ago) link
what makes the performance special is that it's a moment of complete self-possession, which is not really something we get much of these days, especially on nat'l tv.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:28 (ten years ago) link
uhhh I have never seen anyone dance like that in real life, ever (not even white people!)
― frogbs, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:29 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, for me the weird thing is precisely that it comes across like overwrought karaoke, yet knowingly performed as sincere and earnest. Sort of a mockery of prog-pop chart music of the 80s (I'm thinking of Genesis/Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins, maybe? Although I also hear a schmaltzy Tom Jones-seque vibe in that performance), but also played straight. The affective grunts, metal vocals and other stuff are sort of hints or punctures to its actually being something else.
If I'd make a criticism of it tho, I'd say it all ends up feeling more like pomo performance art, blank parody, which is possibly neither here nor there when it comes to pop music anyhow.
― MikoMcha, Tuesday, 25 March 2014 14:33 (ten years ago) link