Ahead of the release of their new album As Long As You Are, Future Islands have released a poignant new single, ‘Moonlight’.
We are less than a month away from the release of Future Islands‘ As Long As You Are, already shaping up to be one of the albums that saves this dumpster fire of a year. Now, ahead of it’s October 9th release date, Future Islands have dropped a new single, ‘Moonlight’.
The single comes accompanied by a music video directed by Will Mayer and starring Matthew Gray Gubler and Callie Hernandez. In a short statement, front-man Samuel Herring describes the song as one about “love in a depressive state.”
“It’s about recognizing the holes in ourselves and recognizing the circular whole of others. ‘Moonlight’ is about acceptance because that’s what love allows us all.” The statement reads.
Featuring muted, unsaturated color palettes, the video traces the swan song of a couple’s (played by Gubler and Hernandez) relationship. Complementing the terse progression of their ending are the refrained, taut tunes of ‘Moonlight’.
As cracks begin to appear in their hotel room, Herring’s voice adds sobering context. “Here’s my heart, don’t break it/It’s all that I ask, nothing more.” he says.
‘Moonlight’ is the third single Future Islands have revealed off of the upcoming As Long As You Are. Shortly after the band announced the album, they followed it up with ‘Thrill’ and ‘For Sure’.
Talking with GRAMMY.com about the album earlier today, the band admitted that they wanted As Long As You Are to be ‘balanced.’
“I think when we released The Far Field, it was like, ‘Oh no, this is the wrong record or at this time.'” Herring told GRAMMY.com.
“Because I still think that record, in time, will be a classic part of our oeuvre. It’s an important step for us and this album we had to make. Because sometimes you just have to release, you just have to put out what comes. But at the same time, I felt that we could have dug a little bit deeper and I, personally, could have dug a lot deeper.” He said.
Earlier this week, the band announced a special live-stream concert to celebrate their new release. This will be the band’s 1,235th live performance, and the only show they perform in 2020. Titled ‘A Stream Of You And Me’, the show is slated for Friday, October 9th. Tickets are available here.
Catch ‘Moonlight’ by Future Islands:
