It may only be early November, but Future Islands are already getting into the holiday spirit: the Baltimore synthpoppers released a cover of Wham’s holiday classic ‘Last Christmas’ on Wednesday.
“Happy Holidays everyone,” wrote singer Samuel T. Herring’s group on Instagram, regardless of the date. Keyboardist Gerrit Welmers’ synths keep the song relatively close to the original version by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. But if you want a change during the Christmas season, you will still find a smooth alternative to the original here.
“Last Christmas” was originally released in 1984, and its popularity hasn’t stopped 40 years after its release: in 2021, 37 years after its release, the song reached number 1 in the German charts for the first time.
Future Islands was founded in Baltimore in 2006. Their first album came out in 2008 with WAVE LIKE HOME, they rose to prominence in 2014 with the fourth record SINGLES and the lead single “Seasons (Waiting on You)”, which “Pitchfork” voted 34th in the list of the best songs of the 2010s in 2019. Most recently, they released the album AS LONG AS YOU ARE in 2020.