Ezra Furman to play Hare & Hounds

Following hot on the heels of the first CD release of his solo debut The Year of No Returning, Oakland resident Ezra Furman is issuing Day Of the Dog, his second solo effort after a fruitful five year/four album stint leading Boston’s Harpoons. Day Of the Dog was recorded at Studio Ballistico in Chicago, engineered and produced by Tim Sandusky and was released by the venerable Bar/None label on 8th October 2013. To celebrate, Ezra embarks on European tour this winter, calling at Birmingham’s own Hare & Hounds on Sun 16th February 2014.

Day of the Dog sees Furman progressing from the dark chamber-pop and gorgeous balladry of his solo debut and emerging as a stylish, technicolor, pulse-quickening rock provocateur conjuring an intriguing selection of iconic vintage styles. Throughout the album, there is a sense of bold ambition and grand artistry in the tradition of songwriting giants of the past, but set apart by an undercurrent of deranged, ragged glory.

Songs like ‘My Zero’ and ‘Been So Strange’ take the broad-stroke tunefulness 80’s heartland rock, strip off the gloss, deconstruct it, and reassemble it along unsettling and far more potent lines. Meanwhile, the title track evokes the shock therapy of John Lennon’s initial harrowing post-Beatles albums – stark piano chords reverberating over massive but minimalist drums. Through it all, Ezra sings in a uniquely stylized yet powerful voice that alternates between odd, tremulous beauty and startling, guttural viscerality.

Ezra Furman Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

EZRA FURMAN PLAYS HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON SUN 16TH FEBRUARY 2014, WITH SUPPORT FROM MIDNIGHT BONFIRES. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Watch the video for ‘My Zero’ below: