You can’t make this shit up: After toiling in indie obscurity for eight years, Future Islands scored an unexpected breakout hit with triumphant synth-pop single “Seasons (Waiting on You),” thanks almost entirely to their viral-friendly performance on The Late Show, highlighted by frontman Samuel Herring’s theatrical stage antics. Throughout the corresponding album, Singles, the Baltimore trio sanded off the experimental fringes of their music, crafting banger after banger of New-Wave synthesizer pads, post-rock bass chug and Herring’s mercurial warbling—itself a reliably gripping mix of vampiric croon and death-metal bellow. So the pressure was high for The Far Field, their fifth LP: Could they conjure another lightning strike, and would that require the spotlight of late-night TV? These songs are even more laser-focused, with Herring contouring his voice into fascinating new shapes. On the soulful “Ran,” he nearly belts himself hoarse; “Beauty of the Road” peaks with a layered mass of crooning, as he revs his vocal chords like stepping on a gas pedal in neutral. Throughout, he layers his instrument with harmonies and backing shouts—for the first time, he sounds invigorated by the act of singing, not just emoting. The band’s bread-and-butter synth-bass-drums palette often grows predictable (“Cave”), so the most thrilling moments doodle outside the lines—like the tropical groove of “North Star” or the sensual slow-jam atmosphere of “Candles.” They may have been memes, but as The Far Field proves, Future Islands are no flukes.