About a week ago, I borrowed a car and, with a fellow KSPCer, braved the 10 Freeway into LA to see my favorite band, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons. A 21+ show at the Spaceland, the crowd was a mix of a few Harpoons fans and a lot of local hipsters curious about the short, awkward boy singing wildly about lost loves and sunglasses. By the end of the night, though, the crowd was converted by Ezra’s goofy charm and original lyrics: one nearby audience member told me it was the best show he’d ever been to.
To understand what Ezra’s music is all about, here’s a review of the Harpoons’ latest album, “Inside the Human Body”:
The Harpoons’ second album (check out their first in the library – “Banging Down the Doors”) does not disappoint. Oddly, the two artists these guys are most often compared to are Bob Dylan and the Violent Femmes. With folky melodies and harmonica solos, it’s easy to hear the Dylan influence; with a punky, DIY vibe and a silly voice, I can hear the Femmes as well. But I also hear the Decemberists in Furman’s slightly disturbing tales (see “The Faceless Boy”), Moldy Peaches in the childish folk-punk feel (see “Big Deal”), and a sound all of their own, which Paste describes as “overwrought, goofy, achingly sincere and totally original.” I won’t lie, I’ve been an Ezra fan for a while (I went to high school with him), but it seems that others are finally catching on to his bluesy, scratchy, fun brand of good old American rock ‘n’ roll. Check out a track for yourself!
