Samuel T. Herring has the endearingly befuddled air of someone who just woke up from a dream to find themselves onstage in front of thousands of people. As the pulsing rhythms of ‘For Sure’ begin to wash over the 10,000-strong crowd at London’s Alexandra Palace this evening, the Future Islands frontman laughs and shakes his head in disbelief, before suddenly swinging his mic like a lasso. “Let’s fucking go,” he commands.
It’s moments like this where you’re struck by Herring’s ability to completely shift his emotions in a split-second. There’s something deeply magnetic about him: he possesses a rare, colossal charisma that can quickly veer into unsettlingly powerful stage theatrics. In his most audacious moments, he licks his own sweat off his arms and creaks his neck like a contortionist, causing thousands of hearts to move to mouths. He knows exactly what he is doing, too: “I was kicked out of art school,” he says, barely concealing a smirk as he surveys the crowd’s rapture after a delightfully ravey ‘King Of Sweden’. “Because I break the rules.”
But tonight, Herring’s many sporadic outbreaks of wild dancing and air-punching seem far from absurd; it’s exactly what the therapeutic intensity of Future Islands’ music is made for. They are a band you absolutely want to love: searching and sensitive, with songs that focus on the heart. In Herring, they have a heroic frontman who can create a deep sense of togetherness in one of the largest indoor venues in the capital: “But trust me as a friend / And I’ll do all that I can do”, he sings on a tender and soaring ‘Balance’. You believe him.
The Baltimore four-piece draw generously from 2020 album ‘As Long As You Are’, swaying in unison to the joyful reverie of ‘Hit The Coast’, and flexing sumptuous arrays of guitar and percussion on ‘Moonlight’, a romantic epic writ large: filmic, intimate and uplifting. This is their biggest headline show to date, but thankfully, there’s no pretence at playing it cool: ‘Beauty Of The Road’ – the highlight from 2017’s ‘The Far Field’ – is dedicated to the band’s 16-year journey to get here. From the supersized pop of the recent material (‘Peach’) to the throwbacks (‘Tin Man’, a triumphant ‘Little Dreamer’), they work to flesh out the enormity of Future Islands’ spellbinding universe.
The crack in Herring’s voice in breakthrough hit ‘Seasons (Waiting On You)’ is killingly real. His tears fall hard and fast as audience cheers ring out for minutes after the song’s gleaming synths have faded away, adding real emotional heft to a revelatory set from one of the most adored cult bands on the planet. We are lucky to have them.
Future Islands played:
‘For Sure’
Recommended
‘Hit The Coast’
‘Beauty Of The Road’
‘Plastic Beach’
‘Peach’
‘Waking’
‘Walking Through That Door’
‘Balance’
‘Before The Bridge’
‘Light House’
‘Moonlight’
‘A Dream Of You And Me’
‘The Painter’
‘The King Of Sweden’
‘Ancient Water’
‘Seasons (Waiting On You)’
‘Long Flight’
‘Tin Man’
‘Thrill’
‘Inch Of Dust’
‘Vireo’s Eye’
‘Little Dreamer’