For In Evening Air, Baltimore band Future Islands turned to Chester Gwazda, their longtime collaborator and the expert producer whose right-brain inventiveness has helped characterize Dan Deacon's mind-melting oeuvre. Their collaboration has yielded an album that skillfully juxtaposes snarling rawness with melodically-rich pop leanings. Lead singer Sam Herring vamps and growls his way through a series of synth-heavy ditties that evoke ‘80s pop and contemporary indie in equal measure. For an album that also finds room for ambient interludes and glimmers of gain-saturated texture, In Evening Air feels unexpectedly consistent, and you can expect that kind of reliability from Future Islands' live set, as well. How refreshing: now that LOST is finally over, we can use words like "reliable," "future," and "island" in the same sentence with utter sincerity.

Future Islands

With Lower Dens, Long Mornings
Friday, May 28, 8 p.m., all ages,
Northern, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia
northernolympia.org