The US group became virally famous in 2014 – but then rushed out a ‘condescending’ follow-up album. Now, charged up by love and self-confidence, they’re back on top
“I’ve definitely done some journaling up here,” says Samuel T Herring. “A lot of lyrics too. It’s a great place for letting the mind wander.”
We’re sat on a rocky ledge overlooking a swimming hole near the house in rural south-east
Sweden that Herring – frontman of US synthpop band Future Islands – increasingly calls home. A former quarry, the pool is deep and clear, with sheer granite cliffs rising 10 metres in places. At dusk, he says, red kites swoop through the air and skim the water. So inspired was Herring that he named a song after the bird – Glada, Swedish for kite – on the band’s sixth album, As Long As You Are.