If there’s a running theme in London neo-post-punk band Art Brut’s rock music, it’s rock music. The band’s leader Eddie Argos isn’t just a musician, he’s a big-time music fan. And one of the musicians he’s a big fan of is indie-pop sensation Ezra Furman, whose new album Perpetual Motion People takes inspiration from brilliant, nasal auteurs such as Bob Dylan, the Violent Femmes and Jonathan Richman to make smart, heartfelt music. But his songs are all over the map: sure, it’s indie-pop, but he works in all kinds of sounds: mid-’60s pop, countrified ballads, ’70s glam, doo-wop and sounds from a more recent vintage, like Destroyer and Built to Spill.
Furman and Argos struck up a mutual appreciation society a few years ago when their two bands played some shows together, and it blossomed into a long-distance friendship. With Furman beginning to break through in the United Kingdom, we put the two musicians together for a Talkhouse Music Podcast.
The two musicians found a lot to talk about: the time Furman accidentally got filmed naked, playing live as an opportunity to do something weird, parenthood and its effect on one’s music, the advantages of being pretentious, and why “no” always beats “yes.”