Back in March, Future Islands and their charismatic frontman Samuel T. Herring set the blogosphere ablaze with their spirited, dance-infused “Late Show with David Letterman” performance. After that rendition of “Seasons (Waiting on You)” earned the praise of the veteran host and went viral, it’s no surprise “Jimmy Kimmel Live” came calling for round two — watch the performance from Monday night (May 5):
The synth-pop quartet played two more cuts from their excellent new album “Singles,” “Spirit” and “Doves.” Both came accompanied with new dance moves and pep talks from Herring.
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“This song’s about digging deep down inside of yourself to find that little bit of flame,” Herring says while gesticulating to the crowd, about to dive into “Spirit.” “It’s always burning even when you’re hurtin’ real bad. And bringing that up to the surface, that’s your spirit, baby. You gotta nurture it. You gotta share it with yourself and the people around you. Make everything better.”
Their other performance, “Doves,” came with a plethora of new dance moves from Herring, who manages to toe the line between creepy and charming. There was some booty-shakin’ and some pelvic motion. During the choruses, he got the crowd to hop along in rhythmic unison, and like his first viral performance, there was plenty of chest-grabbing and crowd-pointing.
“Singles” debuted at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 albums chart last month. After Future Islands kicks off an European tour in London on Wednesday night, the band will return to North America for a string of dates beginning in August.