CD Review: 'Face Control' by Handsome Furs
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HANDSOME FURS
"Face Control"
Kindred spirits: The Most Serene Republic, Wolf Parade
Show: Tonight at the Black Cat. Show starts at 9. 202-667-4490. http:/
The Handsome Furs haven't fallen prey to a sophomore slump: The husband-and-wife Canadian duo's second album, "Face Control," leaps out of the speakers with booty-shaking beats and ecstatic yelps.
The group's most obvious asset is the malleable voice of Dan Boeckner, who moonlights in the Furs from his main project, Wolf Parade. He's always bubbling with energy; even the tender moments that kick off "Nyet Spasiba" are sheathed in restlessness, and it's not long before the song erupts into his more typical vigor.
He's less restrained elsewhere on "Control": His raspy howl on "Evangeline" sounds as though he's gargling saltwater, while he wails on "Legal Tender" with the intensity of one fighting to win over an uninterested audience. "Talking Hotel Arbat Blues" has the rhythm and swagger of a playground chant, further accentuated by its thumping beats provided by Alexei Perry.
The duo's catchiest song is based on borrowed beats: "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything" includes samples from the New Order song "Temptation." The Furs' lyrics bear some eerie similarities to the original tune, but Boeckner's plaintive pleading of the song's title is enough to make it sound like more than just a knockoff.
-- Catherine P. Lewis
