The Far Field (album)

The Far Field is the fifth studio album by American synthpop band Future Islands, released on April 7, 2017 through 4AD.^[1] Several parallels can be made between this studio album and the band's second studio album, In Evening Air: both are titled after the final volume of poetry by Theodore Roethke, and both have album art produced by former band member Kymia Nawabi.^[2]

The Far Field
Studio album by Future Islands
Released	April 7, 2017
Recorded	2016
Studio	Sunset Sound Recorders (Hollywood, California) Mercy Sound (New York City, New York)
Genre	Synth-pop new wave indie pop
Length	45:14
Label	4AD
Producer	John Congleton
Future Islands chronology
Singles (2014) The Far Field (2017) As Long as You Are (2020)
Singles from The Far Field
"Ran" Released: January 31, 2017 "Cave" Released: March 24, 2017

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Mojo	[6]
NME	[7]
Pitchfork	7.6/10[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	6/10[11]
Exclaim!	9/10[12]

The Far Field received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 29 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"^[3] and UK-based music webzine Drowned In Sound ranked it at 98 on their list of 100 favorite albums of 2017.^[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Aladdin"	4:13
2.	"Time on Her Side"	3:39
3.	"Ran"	3:26
4.	"Beauty of the Road"	4:09
5.	"Cave"	3:52
6.	"Through the Roses"	3:15
7.	"North Star"	3:35
8.	"Ancient Water"	3:56
9.	"Candles"	3:57
10.	"Day Glow Fire"	3:49
11.	"Shadows" (featuring Debbie Harry)	4:05
12.	"Black Rose"	3:25
Total length:		45:14

All tracks are written by Future Islands

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	60
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	102
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18]	64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	74
Irish Albums (IRMA)[20]	11
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[21]	2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[22]	21
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23]	9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24]	37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25]	58
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	38
UK Albums (OCC)[27]	18
US Billboard 200[28]	52

References

1. "The Far Field by Future Islands". 4AD Records. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
2. Grant, Sarah (April 10, 2017). "Future Islands: The Unlikely Rise of Baltimore's Heartache Kings". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
3. "Reviews for The Far Field by Future Islands". Metacritic. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
4. Sendra, Tim. "The Far Field – Future Islands". AllMusic. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
5. Dennis, Jon (April 6, 2017). "Future Islands: The Far Field review – thriving masters of modern synth-pop". The Guardian. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
6. "Future Islands: The Far Field". Mojo (282): 94. May 2017.
7. Cochrane, Greg (April 5, 2017). "Future Islands – 'The Far Field' Review". NME. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
8. Snapes, Laura (April 10, 2017). "Future Islands: The Far Field". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
9. "Future Islands: The Far Field". Q (371): 106. May 2017.
10. Dolan, Jon (April 6, 2017). "Review: Future Islands Open Up New Romantic Heart on 'The Far Field'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
11. Cush, Andy (April 5, 2017). "Review: On The Far Field, Future Islands Struggle With the Limits of Their Signature Sound". Spin. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
12. Lindsay, Cam (April 5, 2017). "Future Islands: The Far Field". Exclaim! Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
13. "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Drowned in Sound. November 22, 2017. Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
14. "ARIA CHART WATCH #416". auspOp. April 15, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Future Islands – The Far Field" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
16. "Ultratop.be – Future Islands – The Far Field" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
17. "Ultratop.be – Future Islands – The Far Field" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Future Islands – The Far Field" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Future Islands – The Far Field" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
20. "Irish Albums Chart: 14 April 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
21. "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
22. "Portuguesecharts.com – Future Islands – The Far Field". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
24. "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 15: del 07.04.2017 al 13.04.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
25. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 9, 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
26. "Swisscharts.com – Future Islands – The Far Field". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
28. "Future Islands Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2017.