Say hello to The Furies!

Have you ever found yourself cleaning your house, and then suddenly you unearth a $20 bill that you never even knew you had? There's nothing sweeter than spending that money. It's like a gift from the gods. That's kind of how I felt recently when I was going through my old drafts. I came upon some notes I'd taken on The Furies out of Portland. I had started this review back in March. And for whatever reason, I got sidetracked. The draft literally got pushed out of sight. When I rediscovered it, I played the EP and had my mind blown. Right off, I knew this had to be my next F & L post. So here you go, world: the review that took four months to complete!

I suppose you could describe The Furies as a garage/rock n' roll/power pop super group. This band is Matt from The No Tomorrow Boys along with members of The Cry! and Youthbitch. Yeah, I know: that sounds like a band I should have written about months ago! Sometimes you put a lot of cool people into the same band, and the results end up disappointing. Well, that is definitely not the case here! The Furies' debut EP is a $4 download from Bandcamp and worth every penny. What I love about these guys is that they take inspiration from classic '60s rock n' roll yet don't sound like the typical revivalist band you've heard so many times. They have a unique sound with a lot of different dimensions to it. "Hey Little Girl" is jangly and surfy and positively mesmerizing. "Hey Mister DJ" would fit perfectly on a compilation of late '50s/early '60s heartbreak ballads. "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" is a cover of an old western standard - performed like you've never heard it before. "Kim", which just might be my favorite song of the year, carries the torch for Buddy Holly and Bobby Fuller. That melody has been stuck in my head all week, and I couldn't be happier!

The Furies are a band that should appeal equally to oldies rock n' roll nostalgists and avid followers of today's garage/punk/powerpop scene. While they're clearly inspired by the golden age of rock n' roll, they're far from stuck in it. And they definitely hit the darker edge of garage power pop (think Stiv Bators or The Barracudas). As far as I know, The Furies don't yet have any kind of social media presence. So much about this band remains shrouded in mystery. Luckily, the music speaks for itself. Push play and discover one of the best new bands out there!



-L.R.

https://thefuriespdx.bandcamp.com/album/the-furies