Flashback 追忆: Handsome Furs (2010.08.08)

Flashback 追忆

August 2010 Beijing

Handsome Furs

It's been a bit nauseating looking back these old videos - mainly due to the shoddy whiskey-soaked quality of the videos - but amdist the lockdown, panic, war, and all around incompetence of governments across the world, this song hit me hard today.

Handsome Furs was the duo consisting of Dan Boeckner (mostly known for his role in Wolf Parade) and then-wife Alexei Perry. Gritty yet buzzy electro-pop filled with driving synths, jagged guitars and stomping beats, I remember missing their previous gig earlier that year so promised myself to catch them when they rolled back through. The show was likely one of my firsts at Dos Kolegas - the live music oasis of Beijing. Dog days of summer. Sweaty as all hell.

The duo were in a midst of a tour across China and the rest of Asia (particulalry Southeast Asia) - a trip that would become the catalyst for their 2011 LP (and the duo's last) Sound Kapital with Sub Pop Records. Heck, even AV Okubo gets a shout-out on the title track. One of the standout tracks on that record is 'Serve The People'.  

Pretty much sums up my mood today. 

Check out this recent article from Exlaim! where they look back at that record with Dan Boeckner.

https://exclaim.ca/music/article/handsome_furs_sound_kapital_10th_anniversary_dan_boeckner_interview