Handsome Furs

“I’m Confused”
from the album Face Control
2009
iTunes

Handsome Furs‘ “I’m Confused,“ the first single from the forthcoming Face Control, could be considered somewhat of a misnomer. Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, with the help of wife Alexei Perry, sounds to be much less confused than he did last year with his other fur-oriented “day job” band on At Mount Zoomer. In Wolf Parade, Boeckner can appear to be the pop foil to Spencer Krug, pushing for a tight hook instead of an extended accordion break. But with the darkly exuberant “I’m Confused,” it’s looking like an evening in with the wife will get you further than a night out with the boys. Perry’s “Mixed Bizness”-indebted beats (cowbells, handclaps, and whatever else was lying around the house) contrast nicely with Boeckner’s wiry guitar and paranoid coos, resulting in a creepy sock-hop jam that shivers as much as it shakes. As for the rest of the record, we’ll have to wait and see see if the two could abstain from necking long enough to knock out a few more cuts as tight as “Confused.” Face control, indeed.