KyleParkinson.com

I first had the pleasure of hearing Wolf Parade back in September 2005 when they opened for Arcade Fire at the Warfield in SF. I immediately bought Apologies to the Queen Mary and listened to it for months and months. Almost two years later, and the Wolf Parade hunger hasn’t died down, which is why Handsome Furs‘ new album Plague Park has pretty much been on repeat lately (interspersed with St. Vincent, of course). I always sort of liked Dan Boeckner’s style better than Spencer Krug’s, so while Krug’s side projects (Swan Lake, Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes) have produced a few semi-favorites for me over the past year or two, I feel like Handsome Furs is going to emerge as the winner.

Boeckner and fiancée Alexei Perry create repetitive, sometimes-sparse tunes using a small assortment of instruments, found objects and drum machines. When I first read that description, it didn’t seem too intriguing, but listening to the album reminded me of Boeckner’s amazing voice and songwriting skills. Immediate favorites include “What We Had” and “Handsome Furs Hate this City,” but each tune on the album is slowly but surely getting stuck in my head. Do enjoy:

MP3: Handsome Furs - What We Had
MP3: Handsome Furs - Handsome Furs Hate this City