Ezra Furman – ‘Perpetual Motion People’

The Chicago troubadour flits from skiffle to ska and beyond on his accomplished third album

The Pied Piper of restless outcasts everywhere, Chicago’s Ezra Furman – the sexual, religious and musical floating voter pictured in drag on the cover of ‘Perpetual Motion People’ – has made this third solo album specifically for fellow experience dabblers. Doused in saucy saxophones that make it sound like the sort of ramshackle ‘50s retro revue that Mac DeMarco might make if he fronted Dexys Midnight Runners, it hops, skips and jumps between genres with abandon. One minute he’s lovelorn Neil Young (‘Hour Of Deepest Need’) or roots rock Neutral Milk Hotel (‘Tip Of A Match’), the next he’s skiffle Showaddywaddy (‘Pot Holes’) or drunk Benny Hill (‘Wobbly’). “I was sick of this ordinary life… you’ve gotta keep it new to keep it true”, he explains on acoustic glam anthem ‘Ordinary Life’. It’s a philosophy that makes ‘Perpetual Motion People’, from beat pop opener to gospel closer, a constantly surprising and relentlessly melodic pleasure.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories