People Who Aren't There Anymore

People Who Aren't There Anymore is the seventh studio album by American synth-pop band Future Islands, released on January 26, 2024, by 4AD.[1][2][3][4] Their fourth release on the label, the album was produced by the band and previous collaborator Steve Wright, who shared mixing duties with Chris Coady, the producer of the band's fourth album, Singles (2014).[1][3]

People Who Aren't There Anymore
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 26, 2024 (2024-01-26)
Recorded2020–2023
StudioWright Way (Baltimore)
Length43:55
Label4AD
Producer
  • Future Islands
  • Steve Wright
Future Islands chronology
As Long as You Are
(2020)
People Who Aren't There Anymore
(2024)
Singles from People Who Aren't There Anymore
  1. "Peach"
    Released: August 18, 2021
  2. "King of Sweden"
    Released: February 16, 2022
  3. "Deep in the Night"
    Released: August 15, 2023
  4. "The Tower"
    Released: October 24, 2023
  5. "The Fight"
    Released: November 28, 2023
  6. "Say Goodbye"
    Released: January 8, 2024

Written and recorded between 2020 and 2023, the album chronicles the dissolution of frontman Samuel T. Herring's long-distance relationship across worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns.[5]

Artwork

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The album was named after a painting by New Mexico-based artist Beedallo, whose painting Fading Memory of a Face serves as its cover.[6]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[7]
Metacritic75/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Clash8/10[10]
DIY     [11]
Exclaim!8/10[12]
The Guardian     [13]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[14]
NME3/5[15]
Paste8.2/10[16]
Pitchfork6.6/10[17]
The Skinny     [18]

People Who Aren't There Anymore received acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by William Cashion, Samuel T. Herring, Mike Lowry, and Gerrit Welmers.

People Who Aren't There Anymore track listing[1][19]
No.TitleLength
1."King of Sweden"4:11
2."The Tower"3:36
3."Deep in the Night"3:27
4."Say Goodbye"3:58
5."Give Me the Ghost Back"3:17
6."Corner of My Eye"3:53
7."The Thief"3:21
8."Iris"3:44
9."The Fight"4:27
10."Peach"3:12
11."The Sickness"4:01
12."The Garden Wheel"2:48
Total length:43:55

Personnel

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Future Islands

  • William Cashion – production
  • Samuel T. Herring – production
  • Mike Lowry – production
  • Gerrit Welmers – production

Additional contributors

Charts

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Chart performance for People Who Aren't There Anymore
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 141
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 95
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[22] 33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 73
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 7
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[26] 3

References

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  1. ^ a b c Minsker, Evan (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands Announce New Album, Share Video for New Song "The Tower": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands – "The Tower"". Stereogum. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, Carys (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands Announce New Album People Who Aren't There Anymore, Share "The Tower": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Murray, Robin (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands Announce New Album People Who Aren't There Anymore". Clash. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "We've Got A File On You: Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring". Stereogum. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Richards, Will (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands want to know what comes next". NME. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "People Who Aren't There Anymore by Future Islands reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Reviews for People Who Aren't There Anymore by Future Islands". Metacritic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Simpson, Paul. "People Who Aren't There Anymore – Future Islands". AllMusic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  10. ^ Blakesley, Karl (January 25, 2024). "Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore". Clash. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Hickey, James (January 26, 2024). "Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore". DIY. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Pearson, Luke (January 22, 2024). "Future Islands Continue Toward Their Destination on 'People Who Aren't There Anymore'". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  13. ^ Morris, Damien (January 28, 2024). "Future Islands: People Who Aren't There Anymore review – back to melancholy banger mode". The Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Barker, Noah (January 25, 2024). "Future Islands process eternal change with familiarity on People Who Aren't There Anymore | Pop". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Williams, Sophie (January 24, 2024). "Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore". NME. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  16. ^ Mitchell, Matt (January 26, 2024). "Future Islands Shine Again on People Who Aren't There Anymore". Paste. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  17. ^ Jones, Abby (February 3, 2022). "Future Islands: People Who Aren't There Anymore". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore - The Skinny". The Skinny. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  19. ^ Taylor, Sam (October 24, 2023). "Future Islands Have Announced Their New Album, People Who Aren't There Anymore". Dork. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  22. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Future Islands – People Who Aren't There Anymore". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  26. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2024.