“The End” of Handsome Furs

The End. That was the title of Handsome Furs last blog entry on their website. Over the last couple of months the Montreal duo, comprised of husband and wife Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, have cancelled appearances and tour dates citing an “urgent health issue”. Fuck. That’s horrible. I hope both are in good health. Here’s their final message to fans:

With a heavy heart the time has come to let all of you know that Handsome Furs are no more.

The most important thing that needs to be said right now is how extremely grateful we are to all the fans all over the world that showered us with love and support over the years. Thank you for everything! It’s been an incredible 6 years and we owe it all to you.

xoxo

HF

I love Handsome Furs. To be honest, first I was a fan of Wolf Parade, Boeckner’s original band, but that project went on indefinite hiatus last year. Handsome Furs are more of a guilty pleasure for me. Their songs a simple, but catchy as hell, and bloated with hooks and sometimes embarrassing lyrics. They sort of remind me of Bowie, if he was making music for the kids today, which is what drew me to Wolf Parade in the first place.

I’ve read from several other blogs that Boeckner is living in LA and working with a new band. So, a certain amount of mystery remains around the demise of Handsome Furs.

Maybe I’m feeling a little sentimental, or maybe I’m just getting drunk, but regardless I feel compelled to share some of my favorite tracks from their last two albums- Face Control and Sound Kapital. I hope you enjoy them. I’ve thrown in a couple of recent videos as well.

If you’re from Portland you might appreciate that the video for “What About Us”, and the photography for Sound Kapital was taken in our fair city.

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