Night of the Furies

iTunes Review

The 1980s resurgence continues. Raleigh, NC’s Rosebuds — the duo of guitarist Ivan Howard and keyboardist Kelly Crisp — pay tribute to OMD, New Order and Echo and the Bunnymen with their dancefloor friendly third album Night of the Furies. The duo have slowly and steadily been building towards this indirect homage. Drummer abandonment issues have turned them away from the primal pop of their debut album, Make Out, and towards a slowly penetrating melodic groove. (Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan and Lee Waters play drums on most tracks with a machine filling in for the rest.) With no guaranteed rhythm section, Howard and Crisp allow atmospherics to supply the friction. “Get Up Get Out” generates a driving energy, but its pulsing keyboard shimmers serve as the potent lure. The gentle keyboard chirps and swirling sirens underlying “Hold On To This Coat” flesh out the deliberately cold, new wave melody. Distance and intrigue carry these tunes. Lyrically, they hurtle through the centuries, playing dead, imagining epitaphs, recounting days at sea while finally teasing, “I ruined my life, but you wouldn’t want to see it.” Well, actually, we would.