#2 - Future Islands - Ran
Future Islands find themselves back in the countdown and close to the top once more after landing at #3 with Seasons in 2014. That article can be found here and the recurring theme between both songs is once again how in the hell did this song not end up at #1?! Seasons was a massive hit right off of the bat and propelled the band to unknown stardom literally overnight after an appearance on the David Letterman Show. The band followed up with 2017's "The Far Field", which is a decent album, although I wouldn't say it's better or worse than the previous effort of 2014's "Singles". It definitely follows the same synth and bass combo that has worked for the band for several years, while all of the songs are obviously build around Samuel T Herring's soaring voice. The album reached #52 on the Billboard 200 and managed to appear on charts in 13 other countries as well.
As the story goes, I was driving to work and when I heard the opening keys and bassline of Ran. Herring's familiar voice took over the airwaves as he sang other the ethereal blend of keys, and I found myself entranced. Could this be happening again? Was this to be another supermassive hit for the year of 2017? I couldn't help but look up the song in my car after it had finished playing on the radio. It again features an absolutely massive chorus with Herring literally willing himself to finish the final line "...ran 'round the wailing world". The song tells a heartbroken tale - "what's a song without you, when every song I write's about you?" - and is once again too short and too sweet a season. It demands to be replayed over and over again, and did end up being the most played song for me in 2017. On Spotify it racked up an impressive 13M streams despite failing to chart on Billboard.
The question later became "how does this song stack up to Seasons?". Was it at all possible that any song could reach that sort of level, much less from the same band? That song, despite landing at #3, will always be considered an all-time classic. I tried to listen to the two of them back-to-back several times this year, trying to distinguish which song was better. In the end, it seemed that there might have been better songs in 2014, but Ran stacks up just as good as Seasons any day of the week, and in any other year either song could have risen to the ranks of #1. I am also grateful that the band decided to make an actual video for the song, featuring the always emotive Herring running through the woods and highways of his home state of Maryland while the band plays in a practice space. Also, I found you a really good video of the boys performing live, showcasing what makes Herring so amazing as a frontman.
(live)
Title: Ran
Artist: Future Islands
Album: The Far Field
Previous #2s
2016: Broods - Free
2015: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Cecilia and the Satellite
2014: Morning Parade - Alienation
2013: Aeon Zen - Warning
2012: Meshuggah - Do Not Look Down
2011: Owl City - Galaxies
2010: Periphery - Icarus Lives!
2009: August Burns Red - Rationalist
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