North Carolina's Future
Islands third album, Singles, is a singularly unique album. It's an
odd mix of 80s style synth-pop and new wave, with a crooning,
melodramatic and powerful lead singer, Samuel T. Herring. It's a
weird album, but it's also oddly catchy. One can't help but be pulled
along with Herring's enthusiastic vocal presence. He's earnest and
seems very excited to do what he's doing. The music behind it is
oddly soothing, sometimes lilting and sometimes jarring. Their odd
juxtaposition of the music and Herring's odd vocal approach comes to a head on the song “Fall from Grace”, with
Herring building a howling, almost screaming crescendo while the band
crafts a Julee Cruise style dirge in the background. It's a
compelling album, startlingly and unapologetically unique, like a
2010s version of Pere Ubu.
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