Ezra Furman | ||
| Allmusic Biography : A thoughtful lyricist taking his poetic inspiration, songcraft ideas, and even a few fashion cues from Bob Dylan, Ezra Furman sings in a nasally style similar to the Violent Femmes Gordon Gano while making unpretentious indie folk/indie pop thats raw, deep, and achingly sentimental. As students of Tufts University, guitarist Jahn Soon, bassist Job Mukkada, and drummer Jordan Kozer formed the Harpoons as Furmans backing band in 2006 and self-recorded Beat, Beat, Beat in their dorm rooms with the help of engineer Dave Kant of Outtake Records. After self-releasing a limited run of the album and making their first tour of the States, producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) took notice and pulled the band into the studio to record. The result was Banging Down the Doors, a sincere, awkward, and moving debut released by Minty Fresh in August of 2007. Only a year later, despite extensive touring, Furman found time to write another albums worth of material, and the second Ezra Furman & the Harpoons record, Inside the Human Body, was released in October of 2008. Mysterious Power followed in 2011 before Furman released his first solo album, Year of No Returning, in 2013. By 2014, his reputation in the indie world had grown considerably, especially in Britain, leading to his signing with the London-based Bella Union label later that year. His second solo release, the critically acclaimed Perpetual Motion People, was released in June 2015. After extensive touring, Furman decided to wind down his live band the Boyfriends, reshaping them into the Visions. In keeping with the spirit of change, Furman altered his sound for the next record, 2018s Transangelic Exodus, which featured a darker, more dramatic approach with a clutch of songs about synthetically created outlaw angels, those who love them and fear them, and those who refuse the current state of repression in the 2010s political world order and are likely to be persecuted for it. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: The Year of No Returning Released: 2012-02-07 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (03:47) 2 American Soil (04:34) 3 Lay in the Sun (03:54) 4 Sinking Slow (04:27) 5 Thats When It Hit Me (03:25) 6 Down (03:55) 7 Cruel Cruel World (03:23) 8 Are You Gonna Break My Heart? (02:53) 9 Bad Man (04:55) 10 The Queen of Hearts (04:56) |
| The Year of No Returning : Allmusic album Review : After moving from Minty Fresh to Red Parlor, 2011s Mysterious Power showed a less rollicking side of Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, and for his first solo outing, The Year of No Returning, the frontman of the indie rock group relies on intimate, guitar-based songs. Comparisons to Dylan have followed the songwriter from the beginning, and here, with simple, folky arrangements (and guest musicians adding backing tracks by way of percussion, piano, upright bass, or strings), Furmans poignant lyrics are more prominent than ever. The Harpoons added a fun-spirited, chaotic element to his tunes, but even in this straightforward style, without the purposefully amateurish aesthetic, Furmans thoughtful songwriting style remains refreshingly distinctive. Besides the fact that the music is softer and more focused on this outing, the most notable change is in Furmans demeanor, which has moved from childlike spunk to desperation. Songs like "Cruel Cruel World," "Are You Gonna Break My Heart?," "Doomed Love Affair," and "Down" (which starts on the note, "What the fuck do I do all day laying in bed?") are as downtrodden as they sound. When the subject matter moves from introspection outward, to focus on his surroundings, the results are even more fear-filled, as Furman dissects American societys big business attitudes and inherent lack of spirituality, with lines like "So if you ever find that church that fits in your purse, put it into your cold metal shopping cart/and keep on wandering the aisles on the sick fluorescent tiles, well be miles and miles apart/Ive got my own search and Im still just at the start." Often embarking with a lyrical wisdom beyond his years, its no surprise that he would hit his mid-life crisis early. With such a resounding sadness, its doubtful that this will be the album to pull in new listeners, but its certainly his most mature record, and packs a hell of an emotional punch. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Day of the Dog Released: 2013-10-07 Tracks: 13 Duration: 41:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Wanna Destroy Myself (02:30) 2 Tell em All to Go to Hell (02:13) 3 My Zero (03:55) 4 Day of the Dog (03:25) 5 Walk on in Darkness (03:30) 6 Cold Hands (02:40) 7 Anything Can Happen (02:26) 8 And Maybe God Is a Train (02:15) 9 Been So Strange (03:26) 10 The Mall (02:25) 11 At the Bottom of the Ocean (03:23) 12 Slacker / Adria (05:10) 13 Cherry Lane (04:12) |
| Day of the Dog : Allmusic album Review : Day of the Dog, Ezra Furmans second outing without the Harpoons, picks up right where The Year of No Returning left off, though this time around, the songs and fidelity are sharper, resulting in the fiery, folk-punk provocateurs most engaging collection of material to date. Furmans vintage, Lennon-esque sneer pairs well with the anarchic, sock hop snap of skiffle-kissed ragers like "Tell Them All to Go to Hell" and "I Wanna Destroy Myself," and the addition of saxophone into the mix gives the whole affair a real Modern Lovers-meets-The Rocky Horror Picture Show vibe (add in a little Soft Boys and Violent Femmes and youve got a pretty clear picture as to what Furmans going for). The bluesy, Tom Waits-ian title cut and its Gatling gun-delivered counterpart "Walk on in Darkness" prove that Furman can operate outside of the garage as well, a notion thats furthered by the surprisingly affecting (amidst all of the vitriol) "My Zero," an infectious, four-chord stunner that effortlessly builds from a breezy morning drive into a full-on highway anthem. Furman tackles the usual subjects (sex, drugs, heartache, nihilism, sin, and salvation) with the kind of zeal that many of his contemporaries simply dial in, especially on standout cuts like "And Maybe God Is a Train" and the VU-inspired "Slacker/Adria." In fact, theres not really a bad song to be found on Day of the Dog, as even the less immediate cuts are shot through with enough nervy intensity and poetic, barely concealed contempt to enter the bloodstream and get to work. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Perpetual Motion People Released: 2015-07-03 Tracks: 26 Duration: 1:25:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Restless Year (02:25) 2 Lousy Connection (04:11) 3 Hark! To the Music (01:24) 4 Haunted Head (04:49) 5 Hour of Deepest Need (04:27) 6 Wobbly (03:00) 7 Ordinary Life (02:20) 8 Tip of a Match (02:35) 9 Body Was Made (03:31) 10 Watch You Go By (04:09) 11 Pot Holes (03:18) 12 Can I Sleep in Your Brain? (03:57) 13 One Day I Will Sin No More (02:31) 1 Restless Year (02:25) 2 Lousy Connection (04:11) 3 Hark! To the Music (01:24) 4 Haunted Head (04:49) 5 Hour of Deepest Need (04:27) 6 Wobbly (03:00) 7 Ordinary Life (02:20) 8 Tip of a Match (02:35) 9 Body Was Made (03:31) 10 Watch You Go By (04:09) 11 Pot Holes (03:18) 12 Can I Sleep in Your Brain? (03:57) 13 One Day I Will Sin No More (02:31) |
| Perpetual Motion People : Allmusic album Review : Frenetic Chicago songman Ezra Furman returns with Perpetual Motion People, his third solo LP and first for British indie Bella Union. Since disbanding his former group the Harpoons in 2011, Furman has worked in an array of mediums, from the edgy, introspective folk-pop of his 2012 solo debut The Year of No Returning to the nervy, 50s-tinged punk of his follow-up Day of the Dog. On his third outing, the simmering stew of influences that has followed him around (the Modern Lovers, Velvet Underground, Violent Femmes, etc.) whirl together in a blur of color as he finally goes off the deep end in the best of ways. With an almost manic energy and a rush of invention, he dials up the melodies, hooks, and rhythms, and shines his weird creativity full-bore on a set of songs that ripple with excitement, danger, and fun. Backed by his solo band the Boyfriends, whose sax player Tim Sandusky is also producer here, Furman finally embraces and fully celebrates his perpetual outsider status, turning it into something desirable and bold. In a snarl falling somewhere between Gordon Gano, Dan Bejar, and John Lennon, he delivers lines like "Makin the rounds in my five dollar dress, I cant go home though Im not homeless, Im just another savage in the wilderness, and if you cant calm down you can listen to this" from the marvelously spiky opener "Restless Year." Donning a dress, lipstick, and a baseball cap on the albums cover, he plays on gender fluidity, anxiety, sin, and any manner of self-expression that seems to dart through his brain, turning songs like "Hark! To the Music" and "Body Was Made" into rallying cries for misfits of any ilk. Musically, the albums most common thread is classic doo wop, with plenty of sock hop sax solos and at least half of the songs sporting some sort of "ooh la," "sha-lang," or "shoo-doo" to offset Furmans brazen barks. The whole album feels like a journey through his emotional chaos, and fittingly, he provides a hand-drawn map of Chicago in the liner notes assigning a Windy City street address to each song, like a cathartic field guide to their place of origin. If youre willing to get on board with Ezra Furman and the beautifully messy world that he celebrates here, Perpetual Motion People is a ride worth taking. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Songs by Others Released: 2016-04-16 Tracks: 7 Duration: 25:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Devil’s Haircut (03:12) 2 Good Book (02:33) 3 Ready Teddy (01:28) 4 I Can Change (04:49) 5 Crown of Love (04:54) 6 Androgynous (03:09) 7 (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher (05:12) |
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Big Fugitive Life Released: 2016-07-19 Tracks: 6 Duration: 17:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Teddy I’m Ready (04:19) 2 Haley’s Comet (02:42) 3 Little Piece of Trash (02:01) 4 Penetrate (02:24) 5 Splash of Light (02:00) 6 The Refugee (04:28) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Transangelic Exodus Released: 2018-02-09 Tracks: 13 Duration: 42:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Suck the Blood From My Wound (04:48) 2 Driving Down to L.A. (03:18) 3 God Lifts Up the Lowly (03:49) 4 No Place (03:36) 5 The Great Unknown (02:47) 6 Compulsive Liar (02:45) 7 Maraschino‐Red Dress $8.99 at Goodwill (02:30) 8 From a Beach House (02:34) 9 Love You So Bad (03:39) 10 Come Here Get Away From Me (03:55) 11 Peel My Orange Every Morning (01:41) 12 Psalm 151 (03:39) 13 I Lost My Innocence (03:21) |
| Transangelic Exodus : Allmusic album Review : Transangelic Exodus, Ezra Furmans fourth solo album, is the most varied, dreamy, restless, sparse, and cinematic outing of his career. He describes it as "a combination of fiction and half-true memoir...a paranoid road trip...a queer outlaw saga." His protagonist is in love with an angel; the government is after them. Angels are illegal -- as is harboring them. "Transangelic" refers to the notion here that humans can grow wings and become angels after a surgical procedure. Some believe this is contagious, while others are offended and want it outlawed. Opener "Suck the Blood from My Wound" recalls Bruce Springsteens "Born to Run" in its need for flight, even if its into oblivion. The protagonist is escaping from a hospital to break out his transangel and get somewhere safe. Hes driving 90 in a red Camaro. Amid driving acoustic and electric guitars, doo wop choruses, and wonky synths: "...Even the deepest wounds will heal over time/Ill run my fingers over your scars, and yours over mine...Were off the grid, were off our meds, were finally out on our own...." The tango intro to "Driving Down to L.A." gives way to crunchy industrial sounds as the pair runs from Satan himself -- personified as a physical manifestation of hate and fear. Once more, early doo wop choruses float into the sonic maelstrom as the provocative confessional inspiration of Lou Reeds Street Hassle and Growing Up in Public winds its way into Furman lyrics: "Theres one law and I know no other/Its the law of love Im bound to/Drive me faster...." Wonderfully ramshackle ballads are cannily added as interludes: in the lilting "God Lifts Up the Lowly," we get direct affirmation of Furmans Jewish faith as he expresses hope. (Hes a realist too, however: in "Come Here Get Away from Me," he sings "I believe in God, but I dont think were gettin outta this one..." to a slippery, slow, flamenco-inflected blues.) In "Compulsive Liar," we hear guilt and regret about the lies his protagonist lived as a closeted teen. The insane cross-tracked rhythms and distorted guitars in "Maraschino-Red Dress $8.99 at Goodwill" are juxtaposed with lyrics that confess his bone-deep desire for the thrift-shop item as an epiphany about his true self. It confronts the problems posing within his culture -- but his resolve to continue his dark, heroic Thelma and Louise journey continues. The innocent "Love You So Bad" is led by a pulsing cello, holding the melody line as Andy Kim-esque bubblegum harmonies carry the refrain. Its a beautiful love song containing all the grit and grime of heady desire from one emerging from the shadows. Transangelic Exodus is a scrappy yet poignant rock & roll narrative of inner conflict and acceptance; its songs are a confessional and confrontational commentary on a historic period when so much is possible, even as fear, hate, and paranoia still hold the reins of power. Its energy, vulnerability, rage, and crafty poetics are awe-inspiring. | ||