Face Control

Last updated
Face Control
HandsomeFurs-FaceControl.jpg
Studio album by
Handsome Furs
ReleasedMarch 10, 2009
Recorded2007–2009
Genre Electropunk
Length38:27
Label Sub Pop
Handsome Furs chronology
Plague Park
(2007)		Face Control
(2009)		 Sound Kapital
(2011)

Face Control is Handsome Furs' second full-length album, which was released through Sub Pop Records. [1] The album was recorded and mixed by Wolf Parade's Arlen Thompson at Mount Zoomer, and it was mastered by Harris Newman at Hotel2Tango. [1]

Contents

The album's title takes its name from the face control policy seen in upscale Russian nightclubs where people are admitted based on physical attractiveness. [2] [3] [4]

Background and Release

The album was heavily influenced by the Handsome Furs' travels through Eastern Europe. Dan Boeckner has referred to the album as a "travel diary". [5] In choosing the album's title, Boeckner said:

The thing that really attracted me to using that as an album title was that it was a perfect example of how post-Communist Russia had so embraced this crazed form of hyper-capitalism — the kind that has no regard whatsoever for human-beings — to an extent that would horrify even the most right-wing North American Republican capitalist. [5]

Face Control was originally set to be released on February 3, 2009. However, the album's release dated was delayed until March 10, 2009, [1] due to a legal issue. [6] According to the official Wolf Parade fansite, the Handsome Furs referenced a New Order song on the track "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything". [6] In order to use the reference, the band needed to legally clear it with New Order, which took some time to do and caused the release to be pushed back. [6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg link
The A.V. Club (D) link
Drowned in Sound (8/10)
Pitchfork Media (8.0/10) link
PopMatters (7/10) link
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg link at the Wayback Machine (archived April 10, 2009)
Spin Magazine (8/10) link

Face Control has received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [7]

Pitchfork Media's Paul Thompson praised the album, writing "On every conceivable level down to the cover art, Face Control bests its predecessor, adding stuttering nuance to their previously too-spare sound, which they drape over some of the finest songs Boeckner's ever written." [8] Drowned in Sound's Alexander Tudor compared the album to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. , writing "Yeah, it's THAT good..." [9] Margaret Reges of Allmusic called Face Control "...a solid album, and just another example of Boeckner and Perry's tingling creative chemistry." [2]

Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine gave the album a mixed review, writing "Fans of off-kilter pop will enjoy at least a few of the stronger cuts, but too much of Face Control sounds like the unfinished blueprint of a much better album." [10] In a scathing review, The A.V. Club's Chris Martins wrote "Everything about these songs feels lazy, from the sludgy rock and tinsel-thin beats of 'Evangeline' to the couple's weak approximation of The Knife on '(White City)' to the half-assed 'Dancing In The Dark' paean at the end of 'Legal Tender.'" Martins concluded: "This is easily the most flavorless fruit yet to fall from the Wolf Parade family tree." [11]

Spinner named Face Control the best Canadian album of 2009. [12] The album was nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in the 2010 Juno Awards, where it lost to Metric's Fantasies. [13] In addition, Face Control was one of the long list nominees for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize. [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Handsome Furs

No.TitleLength
1."Legal Tender"2:50
2."Evangeline"3:40
3."Talking Hotel Arbat Blues"2:40
4."(Passport Kontrol)"1:24
5."All We Want, Baby, Is Everything"3:08
6."I'm Confused"3:35
7."(White City)"1:27
8."Nyet Spasiba"4:18
9."Officer of Hearts"5:44
10."(It's Not Me, It's You)"1:33
11."Thy Will Be Done"3:16
12."Radio Kaliningrad"4:52

Personnel

The following people contributed to Face Control: [15]

Handsome Furs

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2009)Peak
position
US Billboard Independent Albums 44 [16]
US Billboard Heatseekers 16 [16]

Videos

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Sub Pop Records, Handsome Furs: Face Control Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine , subpop.com, November 12, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Reges, Margaret. Face Control - Review. Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  3. ↑ Boersma, Caitlin. Everybody Has a Fucking Xylophone: An Interview with the Handsome Furs Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine . KUPS. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  4. ↑ Radio Free Canuckistan, "Dan Boeckner Interview", December 12, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Carew, Anthony. Interview: Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs Archived 2011-06-25 at the Wayback Machine . About.com. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  6. 1 2 3 Wolf Parade Fansite, "News News News" Archived 2009-01-31 at the Wayback Machine , wolfparade.nonstuff.com, December 31, 2008.
  7. ↑ Critic Reviews for Face Control. Metacritic. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  8. ↑ Thompson, Paul. Album Reviews: Handsome Furs. Pitchfork Media. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  9. ↑ Tudor, Alexander. Handsome Furs - Face Control Archived 2011-01-07 at the Wayback Machine . Drowned in Sound. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  10. ↑ Cole, Matthew. Handsome Furs: Face Control. Slant Magazine. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  11. ↑ Martins, Chris. Handsome Furs: Face Control. The A.V. Club. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  12. ↑ The Best Canadian Albums of 2009 Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine . Spinner. Retrieved 30 June 2011
  13. ↑ JUNO Awards - Alternative Album of the Year Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine . Juno Awards. Retrieved 30 June 2011
  14. ↑ 2009 Winner & Nominees Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine . Polaris Music Prize. Retrieved 30 June 2011
  15. ↑ Face Control - Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011
  16. 1 2 Face Control - Charts & Awards. Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
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