Future Islands have today shared “The Fight,” the latest new song from their forthcoming album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore (4AD), dropping January 26, 2024. Atop a sensual, synth-based groove, lead singer Sam Herring vies for self-preservation via his trademark impassioned vocals: “I won’t fade away / I will face every day / As if it’s my last one / And I will keep you safe / Just like our past was / Fight for love every day.”

From the start, Future Islands have been singular and instantly identifiable, with Herring’s life-worn croons and cries backlit by Gerrit Welmers’ melodies and charged by the rhythms of William Cashion and Michael Lowry. That premise hasn’t changed on People Who Aren’t There Anymore, but never before has the band sounded so empathetic and Herring so integrated, with what he is singing and how they sound blended like a dioramic mosaic.

People Who Aren’t There Anymore, the band’s seventh album, heralds a new chapter for Future Islands who, despite having formed nearly two decades ago, continue to challenge themselves and each other. Where they’ve pursued ever-higher energy anthems in the past, they’ve turned inward this time and unlocked a new level of ferocity. The album delivers some of their most inspiring and heartbreaking tracks by doing the opposite: taking their time, and making each breath, syllable, and cymbal crash count. The result is a powerful, defining statement from a group of musicians who have made the best album of their career.

“The Fight” follows previously released singles ‘Deep in the Night,” “King of Sweden” and “Peach”. More recently, the band shared “The Tower,” alongside a video directed by Jonathan van Tulleken (Top Boy, Shogun). This marks the second project Van Tulleken and Herring have worked on together following Apple TV’s The Changeling, whose first season aired this fall.

Future Islands on tour

2024:

3/16 – Guadalajara, Mexico – Teatro Studio

3/17 – Mexico City, Mexico – Vive Latino Festival

3/19 – Lima, Peru – Centro de Convenciones Barranco

3/21 – Bogota, Colombia – Estereo Picnic Festival