Ezra Furman And The Harpoons

Sure, Americana’s been recast lately as a hypnotically pretty indie-rock genre, but there’s also a set of frantic, vulnerable artists scribbling out a rougher sort of revived folk-rock. Songwriter Ezra Furman certainly fits in that mold, with a rushed, cracked voice that’s hard to get used to; but then again, he injects more personality into it than your average childish bedroom-folkster does, and he has a good amount of worthwhile lyrics and melodies to burn through. Furman’s band The Harpoons keep up with his whimsical lyrical twists and sometimes-hyper, sometimes-reflective tempos on 2008’s album Inside The Human Body. Even if Furman’s good at creating an unhinged feel, his growing maturity as a songwriter is what ultimately shows through, a fact that’s ever-so-true on the group’s latest full-length, Mysterious Power.

Updated 04/19/2012