Future Islands

(from left) Gerrit Welmers, Samuel T. Herring and William Cashion MONIQUE CRABB PHOTO

(from left) Gerrit Welmers, Samuel T. Herring and William Cashion MONIQUE CRABB PHOTO

When synthpop band Future Islands made their network TV debut on Late Show with David Letterman last March, the clip garnered more than 3 million views once it was uploaded on YouTube.

The song they performed, Seasons (Waiting On You) off their latest album Singles, has generated a lot of mainstream buzz on its own. But more than anything, it seemed that what had really captured everyone’s attention was frontman Samuel T. Herring’s dance moves.

He began slowly, with just some normal sidestepping. Then within seconds, Herring’s entire body was moving with the music — jutting low to the ground, his head bobbing sharply back and forth with each beat.

As the song progressed, Herring’s dance moves slowed, giving way to a raw display of emotion that enlivened every lyric. In one part of the performance, instead of singing the line, “I’ve been hanging on you,” Herring growls it, tugging upward on the collar of his shirt.

It was a dramatic performance to say the least, with a kind of pure sincerity that feels hard to come by these days.

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On Tuesday (Feb. 10), they will perform at The Republik, bringing their talents to Hawaii for a second time (having first visited for a concert in 2012).

After the Letterman clip went viral, some viewers were amazed at what they had just discovered. But others, who have known the band for longer, understood the standout performance was a norm — and that Future Islands’ electric stage presence really was a true representation of an ability to connect with fans through their music.

It’s a musical collaboration that began more than a decade ago.

“Sam (Herring) and I have been friends since we were freshmen in high school,” says keyboardist, programmer and guitarist Gerrit Welmers.

“Sam and William (Cashion) met the first day of college, which in turn led to all of us being friends,” he adds of the band’s bass and acoustic/electric guitar player.

Seven years after their first full album debuted, Future Islands has, with Singles, developed a much more refined sound. And yet it doesn’t mean that they’ve sacrificed any ounce of artistry along the way.

There’s romanticism in each song on Singles — some sweet, others bitter. All of it, though, is enhanced by the same synthpop beats that first may have attracted listeners. That, and Herring’s commanding, sometimes-guttural singing that displays a raspiness reminiscent of Rod Stewart.

It’s been their most commercially successful album yet and has brought about change that the Baltimore-based band is still adjusting to.

“I think we’re still figuring it out,” says Welmers. “We still treat every show how we’ve always treated it. I’m pretty sure that will never change. We just do what we do. There have been some minor changes here and there, but we try to keep it real as best we can.”

Inspiration for the album came from the trio seeking to create something void of any distinct themes: “a collection of songs that shine without needing something to tie them together,” explains Welmers.

So they got to work, writing songs in a cabin owned by Cashion’s family in North Carolina.

“(It was) kind of a haunting cabin in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest and some old tobacco fields,” Welmers says. “The rest of the songs were written in our windowless basement practice space in Baltimore.”

Future Islands won’t have much time on this island, but die-hard fans may be able to find the band at Helena’s Hawaiian Food.

“We found that restaurant randomly on our last trip and had the best food there,” says Welmers.

For more information about Future Islands’ Republik show, visit jointherepublik.com. Tickets cost $25, with a $5 increase the day of the show.

MIKE VORASSI PHOTO

MIKE VORASSI PHOTO

To get you ready for the show, we’ve put together a playlist with some of our favorite Future Islands songs. And, to make sure you’re able to get the full experience from this playlist, everything is available for listening at grooveshark.com. P.S. We recommend you listen to it in this exact order.

1 Spirit, Singles

2 Old Friend, Wave Like Home

3 Tin Man, In Evening Air

4 Flicker & Flutter, Wave Like Home

5 Vireo’s Eye, In Evening Air

6 Balance, On the Water

7 Back in the Tall Grass, Singles

8 Walking Through That Door, In Evening Air

9 Follow You, Little Advances

10 Seasons (Waiting On You), Singles

11 Take It Back, Little Advances

12 An Apology, In Evening Air

13 Beach Foam, Wave Like Home

14 Heart Grows Old, Wave Like Home

15 Light House, Singles

16 Swept Inside, In Evening Air

17 In the Fall, Undressed

18 Like the Moon, Singles

19 The Great Fire, On the Water

20 Long Flight, Undressed

21 Where I Found You, On the Water

22 Close to None, On the Water

23 As I Fall, In Evening Air

24 Before the Bridge, On the Water