Future Islands – ‘From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth’ album review: An anti-greatest hits collection for the die-hard fans
Meet the new songs, the same as the old songs. Future Islands have released a new double-album compendium of rarities, formerly exclusive tracks and die-hard fan favourites to showcase their output across their two decades as a band, From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth. 20 songs in all, one for each year the group has been together, spread across four sides of vinyl, one for each member of the band.
The Skinny: In releasing such a collection of songs, most groups would look to compile their biggest hits and widest-known or best-loved songs, to cash in on the milestone marketing gimmick that comes with any music industry anniversary these days. On a Future Islands release like that, you’d definitely expect to see ‘Seasons (Waiting on You)’, ‘A Dream of You and Me’, ‘Ran’ or ‘For Sure’, and maybe a new track or two to help boost the sales, but none of them are to be seen here.
Perhaps the most immediately recognisable song on the whole set is ‘The Chase’, one of the band’s best-ever songs, featuring an infectious bass-line and particularly poignant images and lyrics from a group who usually specialise in these two things in their songs anyway.
From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth is more of an anti-greatest hits collection rather than the usual kind of ‘Best-Of’ cash grab, while the ‘Creative Well Has Run Dry’ release that you’ll find elsewhere.
Bassist William Cashion has said that the release is “for everyone who has carried these songs with them, from the first house parties to the rooms we’re playing today”, and you do get the sense that the collection is something of a thank you and show of faith to the fans who have supported the group over the years. There are songs collected here that only those who have spent time with the four-piece on the road will know; songs collected here that only those who have pre-ordered, pre-saved and been around since the pre-‘Seasons (Waiting on You)’ days will have heard before.
But while they’ve all been released before, some of these songs have had a more exclusive previous life than the others. The first single from the album, ‘Sail’, was originally only available as a VIP tour-only 7” in 2025, while the second single ‘Find Love’ dates back to 2011, where it appeared on Future Islands’ Before the Bridge EP.
Some of these tracks will now be appearing on streaming platforms for the first time ever, so if you’re a more casual fan than one who will recognise all of these titles, you might not be familiar with everything here. But, only at first glance, you’ll hardly be surprised by anything you hear. Future Islands are a band who very much have a sound. If you like one of their songs, you’ll probably like a lot of them.
There are really only two different kinds of Future Islands songs: Slow Ones and Fast Ones. Not only does their sound not move much from song to song, but it hasn’t shifted much from year to year or even decade to decade, either, as this collection can attest.
Sure, they lean more into certain feelings on some songs than others and differentiate one track from the next with little flourishes of synth swells, vocal tricks and ticks or drum-fills here and there. If you particularly like it when Samuel T Herring turns into Tom Waits for a moment before dropping back into his melodic stride, then you’ll especially enjoy the guttural dance-pop of ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Virgo Distracts’, or if a more lilting, dreamy and atmospheric kind of Future Islands song is more to your taste, then ‘The Fountain’ and ‘Sail’ are the songs for you here.
Standout Track: ‘The Chase’
The Verdict: There’s something for every Future Islands fan on From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth, but especially so for the die-hards who have probably heard all these songs before anyway.
Release Date: May 22nd, 2026 | Producer: Chester Endersby Gwazda, Chris Coady, Jim Eno, John Congleton, Steve Wright, Future Islands | Label: 4AD
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