| Face Control | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Handsome Furs |
| Cover: | HandsomeFurs-FaceControl.jpg |
| Released: | March 10, 2009 |
| Recorded: | 2007–2009 |
| Genre: | Electropunk |
| Length: | 38:27 |
| Label: | Sub Pop |
| Prev Title: | Plague Park |
| Prev Year: | 2007 |
| Next Title: | Sound Kapital |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
Face Control is Handsome Furs' second full-length album, which was released through Sub Pop Records.[1] The album was recorded and mixed by Wolf Parade's Arlen Thompson at Mount Zoomer, and it was mastered by Harris Newman at Hotel2Tango.[1]
The album's title takes its name from the face control policy seen in upscale Russian nightclubs where people are admitted based on physical attractiveness.[2] [3] [4]
The album was heavily influenced by the Handsome Furs' travels through Eastern Europe. Dan Boeckner has referred to the album as a "travel diary".[5] In choosing the album's title, Boeckner said:
Face Control was originally set to be released on February 3, 2009. However, the album's release dated was delayed until March 10, 2009,[1] due to a legal issue.[6] According to the official Wolf Parade fansite, the Handsome Furs referenced a New Order song on the track "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything".[6] In order to use the reference, the band needed to legally clear it with New Order, which took some time to do and caused the release to be pushed back.[6]
Face Control has received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]
Pitchfork Media's Paul Thompson praised the album, writing "On every conceivable level down to the cover art, Face Control bests its predecessor, adding stuttering nuance to their previously too-spare sound, which they drape over some of the finest songs Boeckner's ever written."[8] Drowned in Sound's Alexander Tudor compared the album to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., writing "Yeah, it's THAT good..."[9] Margaret Reges of Allmusic called Face Control "...a solid album, and just another example of Boeckner and Perry's tingling creative chemistry."[2]
Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine gave the album a mixed review, writing "Fans of off-kilter pop will enjoy at least a few of the stronger cuts, but too much of Face Control sounds like the unfinished blueprint of a much better album."[10] In a scathing review, The A.V. Club's Chris Martins wrote "Everything about these songs feels lazy, from the sludgy rock and tinsel-thin beats of 'Evangeline' to the couple's weak approximation of The Knife on '(White City)' to the half-assed 'Dancing In The Dark' paean at the end of 'Legal Tender.'" Martins concluded: "This is easily the most flavorless fruit yet to fall from the Wolf Parade family tree."[11]
Spinner named Face Control the best Canadian album of 2009.[12] The album was nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in the 2010 Juno Awards, where it lost to Metric's Fantasies.[13] In addition, Face Control was one of the long list nominees for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.[14]
The following people contributed to Face Control:[15]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Independent Albums | 44[16] | |
| US Billboard Heatseekers | 16 |