Check Minus

Maybe it’s my affinity for new wave bands such as A Flock of Seagulls or maybe it’s my love for all the great things that are affiliated with Wham City- But I really enjoy this album.

Originally formed in North Carolina before relocating to Baltimore, Future islands brings a unique sound to their new album out from Thrill Jockey.

It is refreshing to hear a new take on this genre of music that hasn’t already been played out in recent years. While it is based on the same sound as the new wave bands of the past, Future Islands brings a post-punk edginess and lyrical darkness to the energetic dance beats of the genre. They take the new wave aesthetic and infuse their own brand of heat wrenching dramatics.

The vocalist’s (Sam Herring) raspy voice adds a seriousness to the feelings the lyrics are trying to convey. Whether it’s his sharp sound in Long Flight or the grandiose delivery in Vireo’s Eye Sam’s voice adds a dynamic to the sound that has the ability to further engage the listener to lyrics in which they can already relate.

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I live in an apartment in downtown Atlanta . It is a great apartment. I have way more space than I could ever fully occupy, the commute is easy, and the rent is low. But there’s a catch. I live next to what I’m fairly certain is one of the worst homeless shelters of all time.

When I moved into my apartment I was not aware of its proximity to the shelter – thanks to a very informative property manager and her staff that assured me it was in, “A great lively urban neighborhood.”

So, you’d think my greatest frustration is the fact that I live next to a homeless shelter, but you’d be wrong. Let me be clear. I DO NOT oppose helping the homeless. My frustration comes from the fact that this particular shelter is being shut down for being run by an epically inefficient nonprofit that does nothing more than give drug addicts a place to sleep. In other words, a proper shelter gives a hand up, not a hand out. It teaches a man to fish instead of giving him a place to cook that “fish” up in a spoon and shoot in into his arm with a used hypodermic.

In the event our readers ever aspire to open their own homeless shelter, let me outline some important guidelines to save you from the same plight as my soon-to-be-homeless-themselves neighbor:

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