Ezra Furman makes a kind of soul-baring, scorched rock-and-roll that really occupies a unique space in today's indie world. Her only stylistic contemporary seems to be Maria McKee, and both singers favor a sound that's rooted in American forms, shot through with a faint hint of a blues influence, and a dash of proto-gospel. Those pieces come together in fine form on Goodbye Small Head, the new Ezra Furman album on Bella Union.
From the frenzy of lead single "Jump Out", to the tension unfurling in "Submission", and on to the swells of "Sudden Storm", there's a coiled manic energy coursing through the veins of this record. However, on "Power of the Moon" things get looser. Furman drives this one like Keith Richards whipping a Seventies Stones lick until it bleeds, and the central hook here is very catchy indeed. That one is a clear highlight of Goodbye Small Head, as is "You Mustn't Show Weakness" after it. This one, a rallying cry to come out of the darkness, finds Ezra exhorting over a clattering rush of instruments behind her:
"You've got to have it together
Whatever the weather
Whatever secret storm you are born and living in, my pet."
It's affecting, as is the elegantly-realized "You Hurt Me, I Hate You" elsewhere on the record. Like her best albums, Goodbye Small Head has a powerful intimacy about it. Ezra Furman previously favored a louder sound, while this one swaps the fire in spots for an approach which is carefully calibrated, and decidedly personal in bold ways. There are a lot of sonic similarities here to the last Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory offering, though Furman is more interested in delivering her vision than in making a big rock-and-roll album. I mean, this one has a song called "Slow Burn", and that could be a description for every great Ezra Furman song. As the track builds up a head of steam, there are emotional peaks reached and deliverance achieved. And that is repeated all throughout this highly recommended release.
Goodbye Small Head by Ezra Furman is out this week via Bella Union.
[Photo: Eleanor Petry]