“Lilac and Black” is Furman’s empowering call to arms for the trans community, reflecting on the toll of their embattled existence while rallying for a unified front against cis bigots.
Ezra Furman is releasing a new album, All of Us Flames, on August 26 via ANTI-/Bella Union. Now she has shared its fourth single, “Lilac and Black,” via a lyric video. Listen below, followed by her upcoming tour dates.
A press release says “Lilac and Black” concerns “a revenge plot where she and her ‘queer girl gang’ drive out their oppressors and claim a hostile city for themselves.”
Ezra Furman unveils a new single “Lilac and Black” off her forthcoming record, All of Us Flames, out August 26th via ANTI- & Bella Union. Produced by John Congleton, All of Us Flames unleashes Furman’s songwriting in an open, vivid sound whose boldness heightens the music’s urgency.
For some reason Ezra Furman’s reputation as a more folky indie rocker persists to this day, certainly among people who checked out of the songwriter’s career during the period with The Harpoons. And then perhaps transferring that impression onto Furman’s early solo albums. But this performance wasn’t the kind of thing you leave with any impression other than Furman is a fiery and charismatic singer and guitarist whose passion and conviction is imbued with an irresistible righteousness of purpose and deep compassion for the tender and vulnerable sides of anyone that has ever had to deal with the persecution of a society and culture that too often denies full humanity to various groups of people that are dismissed as a minority group.
Music Feeds’ New Aus Music Playlist is updated once a week with all of our favourite Australian releases from the preceding seven days. This week’s playlist features the first taste of The Murlocs’ upcoming album, Rapscallion, Anna Lunoe’s latest rave-bait, alt-pop excellence from Keelan Mak, Eluera, Northeast Party House’s ZHR and loads more.
‘Spellling has announced a North American tour in support of her 2021 LP The Turning Wheel with a new video for “Queen of Wands.” After a handful of summer festival dates—including Pitchfork Music Festival on July 15—Chrystia Cabral heads out on her first headlining tour in August and October.’
‘The Turning Wheel came out last year via Sacred Bones, and was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2021. Listen to our podcast interview with Cabral, where she discusses the album.’
Ezra Furman once told me that living as a trans person in the world is constantly rattling a cage. The reoccurring themes of running away, getting in a car and driving away from everything, that escape to freedom is something that she longs for.
Ezra Furman headlined the Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis on May 31.
The opening of the show was that of Melbourne Grace Cummings. She joined on stage her brother on guitar, Tyler on drums, Lino on bass (she also thanked her driver, “Chef”). The group appeared in good shape, happy to be in Minneapolis this summer.
Ezra Furman walks gingerly up to the mic. She’s clad in a leather jacket, tight black dress, faded Doc Martens and hot pink tights, with most of her wavy hair covering her face. Guitar in hand, she looks straight out into the audience and says, “Transgender in the state of Texas in March 2022. This is not a f—king around type of situation.”
It’s been over a decade since I first wrote about Ezra Furman. Since then, I’ve said pretty much everything a person could possibly say about an artist they greatly respect and admire. She’s one of the greatest songwriters I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. She’s one of the fiercest performers I’ve ever seen. And she’s one of the most humble human beings I’ve ever met.
The way Ezra Furman sings “Do you remember when we thought the world was ending? Seems funny now,” here sounds both hopeful and utterly bleak at the same time. It seems fitting for a song about the cyclical nature of chaos and the role it plays in so many lives. Furman’s new album All Of Us Flames arrives August 26.
Ezra Furman will be playing the Fine Line Music Café on the last day of May.
We previously mentioned Ezra’s work on Netflix’s Sex Education in Jan 2020, and last year, there were a string of singles like “Book Of Our Names” and “Point Me Toward The Real” via ANTI-/Bella Union.
The Chicago native released new albums in 2018 and 2019, recorded original soundtrack material to the superb Netflix Series Sex Education (which is where I first heard her songs), moved from Brooklyn (back) to Somerville, publicly identified as a trans woman for the first time, enrolled in rabbinical school at Hebrew College, and became a mother.
TUESDAY: American art-pop singer-songwriter Ezra Furman plays the Hollywood Theatre.
This week in concerts, Rex Orange County stops by Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Norwegian singer Aurora performs at The Gothic Theatre and Tears For Fears plays at the Denver Levitt Pavilion alongside Garbage as part of “The Tipping Point World Tour.” Meanwhile at Mission Ballroom catch Modest Mouse, Spoon or Bauhaus. Lastly, with the school year coming to an end, Dazzle takes time to showcase some of Denver’s young and talented musicians working hard at their craft tonight through Wednesday with their high school bands. For all your local music shows and news, stay up to date with 303 Magazine.
Written on a music retreat out in the desert east of Los Angeles, the record is a recognition that when it feels like things couldn’t get any worse, the Earth tends to keep spinning. Life continues, and the question becomes what to do with ourselves then. In Furman’s view, apocalyptic references are often used as a scapegoat, a way of putting all the responsibility of the world’s problems on humans, without engaging in the beauty of helping each other through the mess.
Most artists have a knack for storytelling, but few have the conviction and voices to match like Ezra Furman and Grace Cummings. Both women have strong, expressive vocals; they root their songs on guitar, only to let them roam free with wonder and curiosity. And, they’ve both mapped out a 2022 tour, with Cummings supporting Furman across North America on several dates this summer.
In this week’s west coast concert picks, another festival, Just Like Heaven, with Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, Islands, M.I.A., Modest Mouse, The Shins and many others. Daryl Hall, Todd Rundgren are at The Wiltern, Fontaines D.C. have 2 nights at The Regent Theater, Sigur Ros are at the Shrine Auditorium, Animal Collective at the Greek Theatre, Bastille at YouTube Theater, LP at the Greek Theatre.
‘The world of music runs deep with most artists and their work is a body of life. We see it again and again and many artists live within the paths they’ve created, With Ezra Furman that’s easily the case. With a new album coming in August, what All of Us Flames will be is anyone’s guess. Though based on the lead single “Forever In Sunset” the future is bright as is the music.’
“This is a first person plural album,” Furman says. “It’s a queer album for the stage of life when you start to understand that you are not a lone wolf, but depend on finding your family, your people, how you work as part of a larger whole. I wanted to make songs for use by threatened communities, and particularly the ones I belong to: trans people and Jews.”
‘Ezra Furman has confirmed details of her new record, All Of Us Flames, and shared a new single. Furman’s latest album is due August 26 via ANTI- (Bella Union will release the album outside of North America). It is the third instalment in a trilogy of Furman albums that began with 2018’s Transangelic Exodus and 2019 release Twelve Nudes.’
‘Ezra Furman has announced her new album All of Us Flames with a Noel Paul–directed video for her new song “Forever in Sunset.” The LP is due out August 26 via Anti–. Furman also announced a string of new tour dates.’
