Listen: Future Islands – ‘One Day’ + ‘The Ink Well’

Over the past twenty years, Future Islands have travelled a rare arc — from promising newcomers to something closer to a best-kept secret, from cult favorites to a band that has quietly endured.

Rather than marking the moment with a traditional “best of,” they now present From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth – an immediate and accessible collection, with many of these songs appearing on streaming services for the first time. It brings together rarities, long-hidden recordings, and songs that have lived quietly among fans, reflecting the full shape of the band’s path. The album will be released on Friday 22 May, and today, the band shares two new tracks from it — ‘The Ink Well’ and ‘One Day’.

As the title suggests, this double LP traces a journey from humble beginnings toward something wider and more open. Twenty songs spanning twenty years — four members of the band, four sides of vinyl. These songs reveal a group comfortable with subtlety, grace, and emotional endurance — and sounding more complete than ever.

The songs were first gathered into a playlist by bassist William Cashion, who also chose the title: “I’ve always loved the imagery of that lyric,” he says. “The hole in the floor is the everyday, but the fountain is what happens when the life you dreamed about becomes the one you’re living. It’s the dream and the reality existing in the same room.”

A Tennessee Williams quote captures a similar idea: “Time is the longest distance between two places.” It’s in that distance that the floor separates from the fountain.

Future Islands can still swell and surge, but this release turns toward something quieter and more reflective. “This is for everyone who has carried these songs with them,” Cashion explains, “from the first house parties to the rooms we’re playing today.”

From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth will be released digitally, and on CD and Blue + Apricot double LP, on May 22, 2026. Pre-order here.

Coinciding with both the album and their 20th anniversary, the band will also embark on a run of hometown shows across North Carolina (Wilmington, Carrboro, Asheville, and Greenville) and Baltimore — the ‘Fountain of Youth Tour’ — with support from friends and collaborators including Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, Lonnie Walker, and more. More information and tickets are available here.

Pre-order / pre-save Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth here.
Stream / download ‘One Day’ and ‘The Ink Well’ here.