Page 26 - the NOISE November 2013

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Musical Witchcraft
Self Released
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DRAGONS! I woke up on a primitive bed of couch cushions and blankets in front of the stove in a filthy punk house kitchen in Seat- tle’s seedy north end. My head was splitting and the fog from the previous night had yet to lift as I wandered out to scavenge the ash- tray.
As a follower of the universe and helpless in the face of sound and rhythm, blame falls squarely on Flagstaff’s own Dragons, who had ventured into the strange, dangerous outside world supporting their latest album Musi- cal Witchcraft. The wildly diverse crowd had whipped themselves into a frenzy that culmi- nated in an after-party that raged for hours, despite the impending day’s drive the next afternoon. Fun was had, brews were chugged, and hips were shaken. It’s amazing how much good music can bring out the best in people.
As long time veterans of the local music scene, their release was everything you’d expect from such a talented group. Drawing influences from indie rock to surf to jazz, ev- ery song is beautifully executed with a mas- ter’s attention to cultivating an atmosphere of sheer fun and delight. Musical Witchcraft is available for download on bandcamp, as are their other releases, all of which are just as awesome.
As a tone snob, I’d recommend popping into Macy’s Coffeehouse and harassing Chris- tian until he sells you the album on vinyl. It’s got an adorable puppy on the front and, with it playing, you too can reappropriate any number of home furnishings just like me. Take a listen, shotgun some cheap beer, and make a blanket fort with your weirdo friends.
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singer/guitarist Ezra Furman and his band, the Boy-Friends, tango with the best of mod- ern music on their first collaborative full length, Day of the Dog. After splitting with his former musical cohorts, the Harpoons, Fur- man released a solo album earlier this year. But it didn’t take long before he mustered new collaborators to head into the studio. Despite what the fourth track on his former band’s Banging Down the Doors LP suggests, he doesn’t “wanna be ignored.” Quite the con- trary — Furman has always known he’s too talented and driven for anonymity, whether he strives for fame or not. That being said, I was stoked to find that Day of the Dog, though recorded with a new band in uncharted musi- cal territory, stands remnant of the beaming potential I recognized in the up and coming musician upon discovering him.
I was first made aware of that potential to- ward the end of high school, when grass and booze were rampant in my collectivity. This was the age of MySpace, the very site where I first came across Furman; stoned, drunk, and craving good music created by actual musi- cians. One of his early hits from 2008’s Inside the Human Body became a staple within my group of miscreants. The track was called
“Take Off Your Sunglasses” and we all knew it. Hell, we even once had a drunken contest to see who could best remember the lyrics. But what connected us all to the song were Ezra’s lyrics, conceptual originality and veteran use of the harmonica; something raw, rocky, and clearly influenced by the classics. I threw him some virtual clams and bought his two re- leased albums at that time on iTunes. Then I went to college and lost touch with many modern musicians I once listened to; until Furman’s latest.
Before the release of Day of the Dog, Fur- man shared two singles with his fans via Facebook: “My Zero” and “Tell ‘Em All to Go to Hell.” I first heard both tracks on the same cold night, in a similarly inebriated fashion as when I initially stumbled across the Harpoons in high school. But these two songs were much different than his earlier recordings. The whole aura of the Harpoons his fans had come to know was abandoned in hot pursuit of a different direction. The two singles saw harmonicas being tossed away in place of horns, and raw folk-rock put to the side in fa-
Dragons
— Mike Williams
Ezra Furman
Day of the Dog
Bar/None Records
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Like a cataclysmic armada hell-bent on eradicating their bullsh*t contemporaries,
26 • november 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us