Future Islands

Familiar territory, sung with just enough new ache to feel worth revisiting. Herring trades some of his signature growl for something more restrained, songs processing old wounds rather than shouting through them. Waking is the highlight, pulsing bassline and widescreen synths that recall their breakout without just repeating it. Doesn't reinvent the formula and a few tracks blur together, but there's real feeling underneath it. Comfortable, familiar, still genuinely moving in spots.