Furnaces

Description

Ed Harcourt returns with Furnaces, the most ambitious and fully-realised album of his career. Its a record shot through with an eloquent fury that stares deeply into the modern world and asks where were all heading. The record was produced by Flood, a long-time ally of Harcourt, who has previously worked with the likes of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey and Nine Inch Nails. Harcourt will tell you that the album isnt a personal one, yet in writing an album of savage social commentary hes also bared a little of his own soul. When he writes about protecting the environment, hes also thinking about his own role as a father. When he writes about the male ego, hes turning his forensic gaze on himself. Harcourt was also able to put together a dream line-up to record the album. Joining him and Flood in the studio were drummer Stella Mozgawa, of Warpaint, bassist Tom Herbert, of The Invisible, vocalist Hannah Lou Clark and percussionist Michael Blair, a frequent Tom Waits collaborator. The result is an album that, for all its fire and brimstone, is also euphoric and celebrator. It is pure and true, and Harcourt performs it with a fierce kind of joy in his heart.