Listen to Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring on 90s alt-rock frontman Mark Sandman

We’re excited to share the second episode of Unsung, our podcast with Sonos Radio where the world’s greatest artists reveal their heroes who never caught the spotlight.

Last month, the series launched with Caroline Polachek discussing the lasting influence 1980s British pop band Prefab Sprout had on her work. 

Today, Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands speaks with writer and musician Stephanie Phillips about Mark Sandman, the famously elusive frontman of the 1990s Massachusetts punk/blues/rock band Morphine. 

While they built a loyal following and received critical acclaim in their day, Morphine never broke through to mainstream audiences. Samuel explores making it as an older musician, songs that can be a cure for pain and how much one should reveal of themselves through writing.

Listen to the podcast in the player above and revisit our Future Islands cover story here.

Explore the Sonos Sound System Archive here.

The series is produced by Eliza Lomas and mixed by Becky Street. The series leads are Duncan Harrison and Luke Sutton.