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Kevin O'Donnell has worked as an editor at Rolling Stone and SPIN and his writing on music, books and pop culture has been published in the Washington Post, NPR...more »

06.28.11

A thrilling set of art-damaged synth-pop

2011 | Label: Sub Pop Records

“When I get back home,” Dan Boeckner howls on the opening track of Sound Kapital, “I won’t be the same no more.” He isn’t kidding. Prior to recording their third album, Boeckner and his bandmate (and wife) Alexei Perry traveled all over Asia, hanging with punk rockers in politically-ravaged nations like Myanmar, witnessing hostage situations in the Philippines, and exploring nuclear-proof underground cities in communist China.

The duo’s high-stakes adventure wasn’t just for leisure — they served as the chief inspiration for their third album, a thrilling set of art-damaged synth-pop that proves they’re the Anthony Bourdain and Margaret Meade of punk. Unlike their last record Face Control (which was inspired by a similar journey through Eastern Europe), Boeckner and Perry ditch the guitars for synths, drum machines and more synths, plus production that’s so crammed with thrilling noise and found sounds, you’ll hope M.I.A. hires them to produce her next LP. The bracing “Damage,” for instance, sets a Philippine radio broadcast of a hostage situation to Bockener’s urgent yelps and squelchy keys.

Most bands without a huge label contract or ginormous PR machine would kill to have such a fascinating back story for their album. But never… read more »

pobody's nerfect

The weakest of the Handsome Furs albums, which stinks, because I really liked the first two and was looking forward to this one. The lack of guitars hurt and Boeckner's vocals, one of my favorites of contemporary artists, just isn't enough to make up for their absence. "Damage" and "Cheap Music" come the closest to being worthy of the previous albums, but if this is the direction this band is taking, I've got to hope that Wolf Parade doesn't go back to calling it quits.

If you like 80's synth music, you'll like this.

When I played this for my wife the first time she thought I had pulled something from my 80's collection! This is a really cool flowing album, especially knowing that there was a lot of inspiration drawn from their eastern travels before recording this. These songs will get stuck in your head in no time and they are deep enough to have you discovering something new everytime you hear it. Great album overall, well done!