Future Islands, Summer Nights at the Bandstand, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow review - soulful and synth-driven sounds

Attending an outdoor event anywhere in the UK – especially given the summer we’ve not been having this year – is always a bit of a gamble.

And it’s fair to say Glasgow’s in a bit of a high risk category, but fortunately Tuesday’s weather was glorious for American synth-pop band Future Islands as they played at Kelvingrove Bandstand and Amphitheatre as part of this year’s Summer Nights series. 

Opening with the first track from their newest album, People who Aren’t There Anymore, King of Sweden was delivered with the visceral soulfulness juxtaposed with upbeat rhythms the band’s known for. Singer Samuel T. Herring does not hold back and his performance only grew more spirited from here. His vigorous on stage moves, complete with squats, turns and high kicks, were given as much gusto as the raw metal-esque growl that he brings to his live gigs. Herring’s also pretty talkative as a frontman and it’s nice that he gives personal intros to the tracks detailing what they mean to the band, from break ups to dreams to coming of age. Give me the Ghost Back had driven rhythms with dynamic synth playing from keyboardist Gerrit Welmers and powerful drumming from Mike Lowry, while the more ballady The Sickness showed a softer side of the band,with lush harmonies and achingly tender singing. 

Going back to later material, Seasons, from the band’s breakthrough album Singles, released in 2014 saw the biggest reaction from the crowd, and Tin Man was a raucous closer to their set, with Herring expending the last of his energy with some particularly zealous dancing. Support act Joon returned to the stage to duet with Herring for Shadows, a part that’s sung by Debbie Harry on the record. Her blend of synth driven, dreamy pop was a perfect prelude to Future Islands, and it will be exciting to see what this Maltese singer and sound-designer – real name Yasmin Kuymizakis – does next. 

On a night like this one, you’d be hard pushed to find a better venue, and it’s almost magical watching the lighting change on the park’s trees as the sun goes down. Regular Music, the event’s organisers, could have sold another fiftyish tickets, but the fact they kept capacity low made the night more manageable than a lot of outdoor gigs, with no stresses about seating, views or queuing at the bar. All in, a pretty ideal summer night. 

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