Baltimore quartet Future Islands have released their first new music of 2021, a one-off single titled “Peach.” The track follows the 2020 release of the synth-pop veterans’ sixth album, As Long As You Are.
“Peach” is slick and danceable, upbeat in instrumentation, but far heavier on a lyrical level. Frontman Samuel T. Herring is caught amidst conflicting forces larger than himself, like a man overboard struggling to stay afloat on stormy seas: “Death is in season / And it’s pushing me round,” he sings, evoking Alice in Wonderland (“This one makes you big / In a cruel world / And this one makes you small / In a lonely world”) and ultimately resolving to hold onto hope: “But I’m not giving up / Not today.”
The release of “Peach” precedes Future Island’s upcoming U.S. tour, set to kick off on Sept. 1 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The 32-date run includes a Sept. 24 slot at Governors Ball in New York, as well as shows alongside Modest Mouse and HINDS. Future Islands then head across the pond in February 2022, criss-crossing the U.K. and E.U. through April.
Listen to “Peach” below (or stream/buy it here) and revisit Future Islands’ 2011 Daytrotter session further down.
