Canada’s Handsome Furs is comprised of Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner and his girlfriend Alexei Perry, but don’t worry – the leader of the WP pack hasn’t gone all soft and lovey dovey on us. In fact, Plague Park with its pleading vocals and memorable rifts isn’t that far of a departure from WP. With the Wolves, Boeckner was full of angst, but his music was a little rough around the edges. He’s not exactly happy-go-lucky this time around either, but there’s more of a flow to his mellow minimalist (vocals, guitars, drums) Furs tunes.
The 35-minute album (they advertise the running time in their packaging) takes time to get off the ground but if you hang in there, you’ll be doing a happy dance when you hit track #4 “Snakes on the Ladder”. The smooth and easy rift kicks in early and never surrenders. It’s full of atmosphere and mood and instantly earned one of the few treasured spots left on my almost-full iPod. Another track that got an instant add too is “Sing! Captain”. The song has a windswept highway feel to it and Boeckner paints pictures of “bright black nights” with his soaring earnest vocals like he’s channeling Bright Eyes and Bruce Springsteen at the same time.
Just to keep it real (indie style!), Handsome Furs fuzz up the guitars on “Dead + Rural”, but unfortunately there isn’t a great song there to back up the sound. “Can Not Get Started” has a nice overall sound to it, but I wasn’t wildly in love with it the first time around when it was by U2 and called “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get out of” and this same-topic song also gives me a “take it or leave it” feeling.
I’d welcome more music from Handsome Furs – as long as another Wolf Parade isn’t too far behind. |