Just Kids
FURS’ debut album is about to hit shelves – read our HEROINE Issue 1 interview with frontwoman Danielle Wade
Sleeveless jacket and trousers by MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA FW14, all jewellery DANIELLE’S OWN
London-based four-piece (having recently recruited Amina Bates on bass duties) FURS first gave us a flavour of their layered romanticism back in 2013, with their debut single, Just Kids – a haunting 5:14 cut that alerted the industry buzz-crowd. Not ones to rush into things FURS looked to hone their craft, and now, having cut their teeth on the UK gig scene, FURS have wrapped and readied their debut record, also titled Just Kids. Whetting our appetite, the band have released lead single, Natives, and if this Parallel Lines-esque earworm is anything to go by, the rest of the album promises to be a sure-fire dancefloor filler – purple neon lighting and high-powered mist machine recommended.
Danielle Wade, frontwoman of London three-piece FURS, is describing her favourite Martin Parr photograph to us with heated passion and her otherwise shy demeanour is momentarily forgotten. The poignancy of photographs resonates highly with her, making the comparison between a great picture and a great song – “both being able to capture and dramatise a moment otherwise lost forever” – before she needlessly apologises for “babbling.”
As talk turns to music, Wade’s own medium, the zealous mien remains. “My parents’ musical taste influenced me from an early age, they listened to a lot of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground and The Beatles,” she says. This healthy childhood diet filters directly into the FURS ethos via a core of 60s nostalgic sensibilities, bent to suit their will. Hammond organ and reverbed guitars swoon alongside sultry vocals (à la Phil Spector), splintering their contemporary sound without fracturing the overall disposition.
Wade begins nostalgically recalling her childhood. “Growing up in Cleethorpes definitely coloured who I am, it’s an English Northern seaside town which is really grim, rundown and desolate, I couldn’t wait to leave.” Escaping the humdrum austerity, she made the departure southwards to London to forge her musical aspirations, plan Bs have come and gone, but plan A has always been a constant. “I’ve always been fixated on becoming a singer and being in a band, it’s always been my dream.”
“My brother Liam, our guitarist and songwriter, and Olly [Bets, drummer] were living in the States before starting FURS, Liam was playing guitar for Courtney Love,” explains Wade. “They began working on a musical project together, moved back to London and asked me to come lay down some vocals. And I guess I nailed it.”
As the industry hype-scattergun spins, FURS have been static in the line of fire, making the transition from nowhere to somewhere in one fell swoop, racking up impressive support slots with Johnny Marr and Allah-Las along the way.
“I’ve always been fixated on becoming a singer and being in a band, it’s always been my dream.”
Teasingly the band have only given us a couple of appetisers for the time being, which you’ll find humming round the internet.“I think our sound has developed as we’ve grown. We originally got branded as a garage band or a pop band, which isn’t the case at all,” Wade says, unwilling to be pinned down. “Our songs are very melodic and cross genre-boundaries, feeding into a wide range of influences.”
Sleeveless jacket and trousers by MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA FW14, all jewellery DANIELLE’S OWN
Romanticism abounds in the eccentric edifice that is pop music, forming the lynchpin of each FURS song. Harnessing a youthful joie de vivre they make it abundantly clear that they possess the skills to create ubiquitous pop classics. As Wade’s vocals lift and fall, from smoky, languorous altos to elevated highs, a seductive aura builds into climactic choruses.
Their debut album Just Kids is set for release this Winter. Wade describes it as “psychedelic dream pop” and assures us that it will shake up any preconceptions. Having taken their band name from Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s tale of lust-induced obedience, their album will continue the femme fatale theme explored within the text. Prepare to be ensnared.
“There’s a dynamic to the album, we set out to make big melodic pop songs and I think that’s what we’ve achieved. I think we’ve created a strong identity through our songs which is unique and personal.” Their identity is a transatlantic amalgamation, West Coast surf and British indie. The aural equivalent of a California sunrise alongside a cold can of Newcastle Brown Ale.
As expectations grow, Wade feels more optimistic than ever, rolling with the tide of a building momentum.
Additional image credits: hair HIROSHI MATSUSHITA USING TIGI BEDHEAD; make-up EMMA WILLIAMS USING LIZ EARLE; photo assistant JAMES FREW; fashion assistant CHIORI TAKAMATSU
FURS debut album, Just Kids, is out May 13th via The House Band Co.