American synthpop sensations Future Islands are back with their sixth studio album As Long As You Are, the follow up to 2017’s The Far Field. Still, though, the band remain perhaps most well known for their 2014 performance on the US TV show Letterman of their song Seasons, which thanks to frontman Samuel T. Herring’s utterly and completely compelling performance went viral (3.3 million YouTube plays and counting). And in a way, that makes sense. As a four-minute-something distillation of the band’s ethos, magic, quirks, power, showmanship, and, crucially, soul-stirring electro sound, there is little better.

As Long As You Are might just be their most complete body of work to date, however. As ever, the twin driving forces of William Cashion’s forceful bass lines and Herring’s lyric prowess and incredible vocal range propel much of what happens here, but never before have the band captured such a range in an album. From the dizzying highs of the bombastic Waking and For Sure, to the solemn tones of recent single Thrill and the delicate rhapsody of Moonlight.

Writing on their official Facebook page about that track, the band said: “Moonlight is a song about love in a depressive state. It’s about recognizing the holes in ourselves and recognizing the circular whole of others. Moonlight is about acceptance because that’s what love allows us all.”

Other themes tackled on the record include body dysmorphia on Plastic Beach (“Spent a lifetime in the mirror / Always afraid of what someone else would say / I wanted to be strong) and broken relationships, including on the beautiful I Knew You (“Then I had to run / And now we'll leave it all said and done / What did you think he'd find? / Something in the cold of your eyes said, goodbye”).

As Long As You Are might have fewer floor fillers than it’s predecessor, but there’s no question it marks a big step forward for a band who are amongst the most exciting acts around today.

Watch the official video for Born In A War here.

As Long As You Are tracklist:

1. Glada

2. For Sure

3. Born In A War

4. I Knew You

5. City’s Face

6. Waking

7. The Painter

8. Plastic Beach

9. Moonlight

10. Thrill

11. Hit The Coast

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.