190n120: 30 Years of Music with Adam Johnson...Episode Three: "It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change"

184. Future Islands - Singles (2014)

Future Islands made a perfect album, exceptional in every way. There isn't a wasted second within any of these ten songs. Every note, word, inflection, and cymbal hit is part of the greatest whole. Indeed, every one of these tracks is a radio single, delivered with enough zeal to motivate a Tony Robbins convention. I know Future Islands get a lot of flack for being earnest, especially after their seminal David Letterman appearance featuring singer Sam Herring's very motivated dance moves, but honest is honest, and I admire that very much in a band.

Carrying mail throughout the Seward neighborhood of Mineapolis through the end of 2014 imprinted these songs on my heart. From November 2014 until February 2015 I endured a winter that would have scared a Stark back to Winterfell. Within five days of making full-time employment at the post office, I was involved in a weather-induced accident that tangled a lot of red tape and underpants. Every moment of my day became panic compounded by the physical stress of my postal duties. I spent a lot of time on the internet just getting lost, getting away. Somewhere in my wandering, I found this video, and felt my brakes pump for the first time in a long time.

When an individual is feeling the cold deeper than just their skin, heavy-metal works fine in coaxing some heat from frigid muscles, best piloted by the likes of Lord Mantis or Mercyful Fate. It took me seeing Future Islands to understand that friction wasn't what I needed. I needed combustion. Sam Herring just could not stay still, and it was beautiful. Here was another boundless soul confined to a mortal coil the same as I was. Sam had an honest desire to communicate his restlessness, and I heard and felt it. I let that sink in for three months; and by the time the dust had settled, I had a few more scars and stories, but I still had my head.

Singles is therapy, in a way. Comfort in conflict; a heart-to-heart with a hometown friend; chrysalis through the self. "A Dream of You and Me" tells about allowance, of permitting progress and remitting the past to dream. This music will always remind me of a difficult time in my life, but it also never fails to inspire:
I asked myself for peace
and found a piece of me staring at the sea

Recommended Listening: Seasons (Waiting On You), Back In the Tall Grass, Fall From Grace