Extroversion
Furnace St.
Internet-only Release

Staying on the cutting edge takes practice and a lot of work, both for fans and for bands. Even when you’re chugging away, you always manage to miss a thing here or there… or let something slip under your radar and forget about it until something jolts you into a reminder.

For me, the synth-pop duo Furnace St. was a discovery a few years back on local college radio and in a CD called Ladykiller. I loved the fact that their influences informed their direction, but never really fully dictated what might happen. Sure, you knew right away that Joy Division and Depeche Mode and Radiohead and Slowdive were in there somewhere… but it wasn’t like Superman ice cream with distinctive colors sharply evident.

It was always like they were reaching for a whole new color altogether… maybe even a variation on black.

An email from a friend reintroduced me to the duo and a newer, internet-only release of theirs called Extroversion. It also brought some sobering news: that the duo had decided to call it an “indefinite hiatus” after “10 years of service” and that this would be their final effort for a while. For Adam Boose (vocals, guitars, lcd, carrier) and Lisa Jorgensen (synths/programming), all the practice and hard work led to missing a thing here or there, too… and letting things slip under their collective radar as it related to life.

With that in mind, Extroversion is a fond sonic farewell (or is it “vacation?”) wrapped up in reverence to synth-pop styles of the 80s and 90s-style industrial dance music, popularized by the likes of nine inch nails. Into the blender on puree these styles go—creating what might sound like New Wave but in a much more organic and less techno-obvious sort of way.

Highlights from Extroversion include “Hey23,” “Vanilla,” the murky and muddled “Blanc Cheque” and “The Yesman Cometh” – all of which have appropriate nods to Ian Curtis and other synth pop/rockers along the way. The release is capped off with a fairly straightforward (if not suggestive) cover of the Knack’s “My Sharona.” Two tongues firmly planted in cheek here, thoughtful of days gone by and very well done to boot.

I’ve said in these pages before that alt-rock duos can make for some compelling listening. Furnace St. is no exception. Here’s hoping the farewell doesn’t last forever and that Boose and Jorgensen get extroverted enough to come back and see us.

Extroversion is available in its entirety in .mp3 format and at no cost. Check out the Furnace St. website at http://www.FurnaceSt.com (:divend:)