Photo by Buck Meek.
Last month, Ezra Furman shared "Point Me Toward The Real," her first solo single since the 2019 release of her fifth solo studio LP, Twelve Nudes. Since that record's release, she's been helping soundtrack the British Netflix series Sex Education. Today, she's back with a powerful new track titled "Book Of Our Names," sung in the style of protest songs past.
"This song is about what it feels like to live together under an empire that doesn’t value your lives,” Furman explains. “I sing it as a Jew and as a trans woman, knowing well the stakes and consequences of being part of a hated population. But it is a protest song intended for use by any movement for collective survival and freedom. I noticed that the book of the Bible called Exodus in English, the one where the Hebrews escape slavery in Egypt, is called the Book of Names in Hebrew. And I started to think that the act of saying names out loud, of seeing individuals in their full irreplaceable uniqueness, holds the seed of true liberation.”
Watch the new track's Nathan David Smith-directed lyric video and view Furman's upcoming tour dates below, and read her interview with The FADER's Brady Gerber "on why it's OK to feel like shit" here.
Ezra Furman 2022 tour
5/19 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom *
5/21 - San Francisco, CA - August Hall *
5/23 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile *
5/24 - Vancouver, BC - Hollywood Theatre *
5/25 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
5/26 - Boise, ID - Visual Arts Collective *
5/28 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre *
5/30 - Des Moines, IA - Gas Lamp *
5/31 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line *
6/1 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall *
6/9 - Somerville, MA - Crystal Ballroom (Ezra Solo)
6/21 - Valencia, ES - Diversity Festival
6/24 - Hertfordshire, UK - Standon Calling Festival
8/14 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom ^
8/16 - Milwaukee, WI - UWM Panther Arena ^
8/17 - Indianapolis, IN - TCU Amphitheater ^
8/21 - Crickhowell, UK - Green Man Festival
8/23 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh International Festival
9/12 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa
9/13 - Toronto, ON - Rec Room
9/14 - Detroit, MI - The Loving Touch
9/15 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr Small's
9/18 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
9/19 - Providence, RI - Fete Ballroom
9/20 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair
9/21 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
9/22 - Dover, DE - Firefly Festival
* w/ Grace Cummings
^ w/ Jack White
