Future Islands – “Calliope”

Future Islands – “Calliope”

If there is any such thing as a bad Future Islands song, I haven’t heard it. The Baltimore synthpop greats are now more than a decade into a career that’s taken them from dank, cramped DIY spaces to the mainstages of some of our biggest festivals. Last year, they released the very good new album The Far Field, so they are well off of the album cycle now. But they’ve still just come out with a new song, and it’s a good one.

Future Islands just shared “Calliope,” a new contribution to the Adult Swim Singles program. A lot of artists don’t necessarily save their best tracks for promotional things like that. Future Islands are not one of those bands. “Calliope” is as sweeping and dramatic as any Future Islands song, but it’s also livelier and more sprightly than anything on the last album.

“Calliope” features great hi-hat work from drummer Mike Lowry, formerly of forward-thinking Baltimore jam band Lake Trout. It’s also got a bright, bloopy synth riff and a hard-rolling bassline. It’s the most dance-informed Future Islands track in a good while, and that’s a good thing. I hope “Calliope” makes its way into Future Islands’ live show, mostly because I think Samuel T. Herring can bust some serious moves to it. Listen below.

You can keep up with the Adult Swim singles here.

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