REVIEW: Ezra Furman’s ‘Transangelic Exodus’ flies too high, falls short

For Ezra Furman, “introspection” seems to be the fitting descriptor for his new record “Transangelic Exodus.” The indie-rock artist described it as a concept album revolving around an angelic coming-of-age tale saturated with Biblical lore, inspired by his Jewish affiliation. While the album’s story is unique, its main hindrance is underwhelming musical quality.

Furman started his first band, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, with a group of musicians at his alma mater, Tufts University. After releasing four albums with the band between 2006 and 2011, he started releasing solo work and working with another group, Ezra Furman and the Boy-Friends. In this effort, he released his most recent record, “Perpetual Motion People,” in 2015. Upbeat and catchy, the album received acclaim from The Guardian, spotlighting the artist’s gender fluidity.

Said fluidity is the basis for the concept of the album “Transangelic Exodus.” The album is a change in direction from “Perpetual Motion People,” which features similar indie-rock elements but with a different type of variation.

A key point is that this is Furman’s first solo album on his label Bella Union. He is working alongside forward-thinking indie artists Beach House and Father John Misty on a label started by Cocteau Twins, one of the most innovative dream pop groups of all time. This creative freedom should allow Furman to flourish.

From the first track, “Suck The Blood From My Wound,” Furman’s lyrics paint a picture of himself and his romantic partner undergoing physical metamorphoses into angelic forms. But apparently they are also escaping some authoritative hospital and leaving for Baton Rouge, for whatever reason. It is disjointed, but not nearly as disjointed as the music is from the lyrics.

The song’s problem is that the concept is lost its bland instrumentation. Furman utilizes a passionate delivery, but the production makes it sound like the intro song to a corny film about high school. All that’s missing is a male character’s voice narrating over a slow-motion shot of the girl he likes.

There are two noticeable factors that benefit many of the greatest concept albums of all time: interludes and skits. Pink Floyd captivated listeners with their spacy and ethereal breaks on “The Dark Side of the Moon” and Kendrick Lamar’s experimental jazz stints and poem-reading on “To Pimp a Butterfly” made the record into his magnum opus. “Transangelic Exodus” is absent of any breaks whatsoever, which nullifies its conceptual sound.

The first three tracks don’t project some dystopian universe like their lyrics, which try so hard to be edgy and grand. But neither of those descriptors can be fulfilled by formulaic structures and recycled art-rock tropes utilized on tracks such as “Love You So Bad” and “I Lost My Innocence.” Many of the cuts sound like glitzy, bastardized songs by The Flaming Lips (ironically, another legendary band signed to Bella Union).

Furman’s album does pick up with later tracks. The fourth song, “No Place,” is the first track in which Furman’s lyrical delivery, content and instrumentation are well aligned. The pounding drums and distorted saxophone lead are grand, but not overly so. His vocals are raunchy and abrasive but aren’t nonsensical screams.

“Psalm 151” and “Peel My Orange Every Morning” are diamonds in a 13-track rough. Both songs are among the most varied on the track list. “Peel My Orange Every Morning,” for instance, makes two transitions between lo-fi vocals, resembling Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, and an aggressive staccato guitar and drum pattern. The song is maximal for being a sub-two-minute cut.

Do not let this album make you think Furman is not talented. He certainly is. What Furman lacks in creative production, he makes up for with passionate delivery and cohesive songwriting. But if these qualities could be bottled up, “Transangelic Exodus” is the wrong receptacle.