More about: Ezra Furman

Every time Ezra Furman announces a new album, you get the feeling that you’re in for something special. Maybe it’s the tale of an angel on the lam from an oppressive government, told through evocative storytelling and distorted rock, or maybe it’s the soundtrack to your favourite series on Netflix. This time, she’s gifted us All Of Us Flames, an unforgettable narrative of hope and resistance that confirms her as one of the finest songwriters of a generation.

Inspiration for All Of Us Flames comes from the narrative style of early Bob Dylan albums, and it’s easy to find links with other artists like Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. One of the most prominent examples comes from album opener ‘Train Comes Through’, a goosebump-inducing showstopper on the same level as her previous treasures ‘Driving Down to L.A.’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’. It feels like she’s speaking directly to you, and the song has a rhythm that gives each line a gorgeous melody.

Later we have more character-driven stories like ‘Point Me Towards the Real’, where Furman embodies someone just released from a psychiatric institute, travelling home with the only person they have on the outside. The lighter, synth-based instrumentation here allows the story to take centre stage.

But there are also more personal moments on the album, as Furman has already explained: "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."

This message of hope and resistance is most pronounced on her previously released single ‘Book of Our Names’ where she sings of a future where trans people are visible, heard and respected: “none of us ashes, all of us flames / and I want us to read it aloud”.

‘Lilac and Black’ follows this same theme, telling us of an imagined queer girl gang all over the world who will overcome anything that stands in their way. You don’t need an album review to tell you that transphobia is rife all over the world, but you do need Ezra Furman’s voice to offer messages of hope and strength in spite of it all. She skilfully combines this tone with religious elements in ‘Poor Girl a Long Way From Heaven’ and ‘Temple Of Broken Dreams’, taking what has so often been used against marginalised communities and turning it into something positive, a reflection of her own faith (Furman has been attending Rabbinical school).

A moment of absolute musical genius on All Of Us Flames is the track ‘Ally Sheedy In The Breakfast Club’, an ode to the titular film’s basket case and to any fictional character we’ve become overly attached to over the years. The song crackles and flickers like a VHS tape as Furman’s voice fizzes overtop. She sings of such a relatable form of escapism that it would be hard to find someone who isn’t immediately touched by the song. The standout lyric? “I build my world on versions of your VHS visage”. Absolutely fucking beautiful.

Showing development from her previous albums, All Of Us Flames has a slightly more polished sound without taking away from the raw emotion that Ezra Furman consistently evokes in her lyrics. The beautiful songwriting on All Of Us Flames has the potential to go down in history; without a shadow of a doubt, Ezra Furman has made one of the best, most important albums of the year.

All Of Us Flames arrives 26 August via Bella Union.

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Ezra Furman