Ezra Furman gleefully exclaims, “I wrote this song in a paper bag,” as his band’s second album, Inside the Human Body, explodes with opening track “We Should Fight.” Familiarity and freshness eek from the speakers in a way that only American rock ‘n’ roll can.
The music, a straightforward ’50s-era near-doo-wop bounce, is a perfect vehicle for Furman’s vulnerable, on-key wailing. Anything else would an unfortunate distraction.
An underlying anger mixed with child-like innocence readies the Harpoons to wide appeal. Flexing courage and confidence, it seems that they are on the right path.
This simplicity works against the charismatic Furman in a few numbers, most notably the lumbering and uneventful “The Dishwasher,” in which the protagonist merely relates things already obvious to any and all. “And so what if I coulda made millions in the stock market? / I never much understood numbers anyway / I wash the dishes / Someone must do that.” Yes, but a song about it is not necessary.
“The Faceless Boy” demonstrates yet another exercise in futility with a forced feel permeating every chord and uninventive lyrics such as, “The boy who was born without a face / Can’t go out in public or anyplace.”
However, “If I Was a Baby,” with its calming melody and organ able to transform the giddy into the somnambulist, proves that Furman can pen slow, thoughtful tunes.
The aggressive “Big Deal,” campfire-ready “The World is Alive,” and dramatic “The Worm in the Apple” make the less desirable numbers nearly obsolete. Furman must have quite the unreleased canon hiding somewhere in what I would like to think is a bedroom unchanged since he was a much younger boy.
Still relatively unknown, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons have not only overcome the dreadful sophomore slump but have also screamed from atop a mountain that this is just the beginning. This is not breaking news to Furman, as “Big Deal” explains: “I’m totally certain that the big red curtain’s gonna rise at Carnegie Hall / And everybody that I hate / Is gonna find out too late / That I’ve become / A big deal.”
– Luc Rodgers
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons: www.ezrafurman.com
Minty Fresh: www.mintyfresh.com