ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

This Is Our Jam Premieres: Future Islands, “Grease”

future-islands
While it may have started among the art punks of Baltimore’s Wham City collective, Future Islands' 2011 album, On The Water, marked a turn toward softer, more emotional songwriting for the band. In keeping with that trajectory, Future Islands has just released a new video for album highlight “Grease,” which documents its road-dog lifestyle in the beautifully shot black and white of a constantly rotating camera.
As Future Islands traverse the country, endlessly hauling gear and playing shows, frontman Samuel T. Herring’s gravely voice asks how long he can keep it up. “Time for the show / And the road was long and slow / And I'm growing old / I was a boy not long ago,” laments Herring, whose weariness hangs over each syllable like dust clouds in an ancient attic. More than a song about a rock band, “Grease” explores the universal fear of aging. “What happens to youth?” Herring asks, followed by a heartbreaking realization: “This song won’t change a thing.” And the band marches on.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

Future Islands—On The Water
"Grease"


All music is for sampling purposes only. Please go out and buy the artists' records. If you would like for us to remove a track, please email us at feedback@refinery29.com.

08/31 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones *
09/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF
09/02 – Fresno, CA @ Audie's Olympic *
09/03 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst *
09/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent *
09/05 – Arcata, CA @ Humboldt Brews
09/06 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
09/07 – Portland, OR @ Branx
09/08 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/09 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
09/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
09/13 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
09/15 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
09/23 – Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
10/06 – Columbia, MD @ Virgin Mobile Free Fest
11/02 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
11/03 – Savannah, GA @ The Wormhole
11/04 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
11/05 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/06 – Miami, FL @ Bardot Miami
11/07 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
11/08 – Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
11/09 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/10 – Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s
11/11 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
11/13 – Dallas, TX @ The Prophet Bar
11/14 – Norman, OK @ The Opolis
11/15 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Café
11/16 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
11/17 – Bloomington, IN @ Russian Recording
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11/19 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
11/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

*With XBXRX

More from Entertainment

R29 Original Series

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT