Friday, May 18th, 2012

What About Us

Handsome Furs call it a day

Photo By Liam MaloneyLiam MaloneyThe Canadian music scene got a little/lot less rock last night when word got out that Handsome Furs – the Wolf Parade spin-off that arguably equalled or bettered that project – had hung it up. Word came via a blog post without much in the way of explanation, and considering the previous post was in reference to cancelling European tour dates in March due to an “urgent health issues”, one can only hope that this is a decision that Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry are choosing to make rather than having it forced upon them.

Boeckner’s fans are surely reeling considering this is two of his bands retired in the past eighteen months, but according to the The Victoria Times-Colonist, he’s already got a new project in the pipe – based out of his new apparent homebase of Los Angeles – so maybe people won’t have to wait to hear his distinctive yelp coming out of their speakers again. Maybe he’s just trying to keep up with former bandmate Spencer Krug in terms of bands on their CV?

In any case, this announcement makes last year’s fist-clenchingly synth-soaked Sound Kapital the final word from the band. Not a bad note to go out on. And, of course, the fact that Canadian journos will go into the long weekend with Handsome Furs on the brain and a little over a week to assemble our Polaris Prize ballots may give the already favoured Sound Kapital a little extra push… not to mention if they make the short list, maybe they could be persuaded to play one, final gig for the gala in September. Hey, I’m just spitballing here.

MP3: Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “What About Us”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Radio Kaliningrad”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “Cannot Get, Started”
MP3: Handsome Furs – “What We Had”
Video: Handsome Furs – “Serve The People”
Video: Handsome Furs – “What About Us”
Video: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
Video: Handsome Furs – “Cannot Get Started”
Video: Handsome Furs – “Dumb Animals”

Blurt gets to know Patrick Watson. He’s at the Music Hall on May 29.

Denver Westword and The San Francisco Chronicle profile Plants & Animals; they play Yonge-Dundas Square the evening of June 15 for NXNE.

The AV Club interviews Paul Saulnier of PS I Love You.

Feist hits the street for the latest video from Metals.

Video: Feist – “Cicadas & Gulls”

Yeah that’s all for today. I need to slink into the long weekend and get away for a bit.

By : Frank Yang at 8:37 am
Category: General

Tags: , , , ,

RSS Feed for this post3 Responses.
  1. ERic says:

    I hope this doesn’t mean that the Handsome Furs are going to break up in real life. I hope the actions in their “What About Us” video for wasn’t a clue.

  2. Largehearted Boy: Shorties (A Goth Documentary, Alan Hollinghurst, and more) says:

    […] Chromewaves shared a collection of Handsome Furs songs and videos. […]

  3. Soundtrack2 Ep. 104: Movies Without Sound | Soundtrack2 says:

    […]  Handsome Furs – Dead + Rural Chrome Waves tells me this Wolf Parade spinoff has called it a day. Here’s a fitting farwell. On a related note, it […]