Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. In creating a work which pretty much unfailingly sounds like it could have been made 25 years ago, Future Islands have rejected a lot of current sonic trends--only for their sound to land fashionable-side-up anyway. The tunes are the thing, of course, and the tunes are good.
  2. What makes In Evening Air a great break-up album is the same thing that makes Teen Dream (2010) a great break-up album: it's not exactly that the lyrics espouse these profound, poetic truths about relationships so much as they use sonic patterns and pretty mundane language to create a sad and disorienting sense of something very familiar disappearing.
  3. At the root of all good music is a dying cause to tell a good story and Future Islands take that kind of attitude to heart with In Evening Air; there is nothing dismissible, or close to it, on here.
  4. In Evening Air employs a clear formula where guitar and synth play off each other, where at points they're indistinguishable. It's this close partnership that gives the record an architected feel.
  5. Jan 7, 2011
    70
    Nothing on In Evening Air quite achieves the slow-burning power of the title track to their In the Fall EP. But as a distillation of Future Islands' textured, unpredictable approach to pop, it's a fine starting point.
  6. Drawing from a few different traditions while making them their own, Future Islands prove here to be a well-versed group of wild, woolly storytellers.
  7. In Evening Air joins the ranks of classic break-up records in its chronicling of past and lost love.
  8. At just over thirty-five minutes, the length of the album works to its advantage too, not overstaying its welcome as well as solidifying the fact that there's nothing exceptionally challenging about In Evening Air.
  9. Due in large part to Herring's undeniably affecting vocals and lyrical laments, In Evening Air is a record that sticks. It is one for autumn, for spring, or for any moment of your life that is vividly tainted with love and all its trappings.
  10. Under The Radar
    70
    Much of In Evening Air plays like an '80s electronic pop record made by guys who found their substance in post-punk heroes, though they've managed to take those pieces and stretch a new skin over them. [Spring 2010, p.63]
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 4 out of 19
  1. May 30, 2013
    10
    I still remember the first time I heard "Tin Man." I didn't know what to think of the grizzly-bear-inspired voice or the wind-chime backdropI still remember the first time I heard "Tin Man." I didn't know what to think of the grizzly-bear-inspired voice or the wind-chime backdrop music and imposing bass-line. But the more I listened to it, the more I fell in love with it. I then started to listen to the rest of "In Evening Air" and my life was forever changed.

    You can't help but feel a sort of sadness and sympathy for Samuel T. Herring and the lyrics inspired by his break-up. He has a unique way of picking perfectly beautiful lyrics and expressing his emotion in every verse. While I prefer the faster-paced songs on this album (like "Vireo's Eye"), the slower-paced ones are equally as impactful ("Long Flight," for example).

    Overall, it takes a bit to get used to the sound of Future Islands. But if you go deeper into their sound and lyrics (and if you go to one of their amazingly personal concerts), you'll discover one of the best bands out there.
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