Handsome Furs - Face Control

Although their album artwork looks like something a ten-year-old fucking around on Photoshop could have designed, Handsome Furs' new album, Face Control isn't as bad as its cover makes it out to be. Due out on March 10th, Face Control continues in the vein of Handsome Furs' debut album, Plague Park, with its dark electro beats and Dan Boecker's familiar Wolf Parade yelp. This time around though, Boecker and his partner in crime, wife Alexei Perry, seem more set on incorporating rock 'n roll elements into their typically synth-induced beats. Droney guitars pepper "Evangeline," while mounting bass and drums make "Talking Hotel Arbat Blues" seem like a lost Wolf Parade b-side, and interweaving post-punk riffs spin around on "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything," a track that also contains a New Order reference that apparently delayed the release of Face Control. Handsome Furs haven't fully lost their dancey style though, as evidenced by synth heavy instrumentals like "(Passport Kontrol)" and "(White City)," or even the '80s melodies that carry the weight of "I'm Confused." Overall, Face Control is much stronger than Plague Park and shows Handsome Furs really taking full advantage of all the different sounds and influences in their collective arsenal.

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Recommended Tracks: "Legal Tender," "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything," "I'm Confused," "Nyet Spasiba," "Radio Kaliningrad."