French Style Furs Are Creating Music That Just Feels Right [video]

The story of French Style Furs plays out like one of divine intervention. Band members from established bands (lead singer Nathan Willett and bassist Matt Maust of Cold War Kids, and drummer Nathan Warketin of We Barbarians) were struck like a bolt of lightning in front of a store in Brooklyn. They had to be exorcised, by writing and recording in between shows with their original bands and doing quick live takes that had no seconds to spare. Inspired by a book of poems written by a 20th Century monk, the result is a fuzzy recollection of the months that followed in the recording, one that doesn’t sound rushed at all because the conviction and strength behind the ideas are so strong.

“Turn or Burn” is one of those songs that put this all out on display. Switching up his typical high register, Willett displays some very deep vocals that soak into your subconscious. Why the dramatic change? Probably because it felt right. It’s why the quickly made album never feels rushed, because it’s full of these switches that just feel right. A fuzzy bass drones on in the background and quick, precise percussion underwrites Willett’s sermon-like singing. The song feels like it could implode on itself at any second, much like the woman the video follows. She’s moving in slow motion, smoking a cigarette, losing her shirt and finding a hat — the whole thing feels destructive but ends simply with her staring out the window into the fog juxtaposed with the lyrics trailing off at the end of the song.