With new album 'All Of Us Flames', a lot has changed for Ezra Furman.
Words: Alex Cabre.
Since Dork last met Ezra, promoting her fire-bellied punk record 'Twelve Nudes' back in 2019, she's come out as a transgender woman. In the same announcement, posted to Instagram in 2021, she spoke publicly about having a young child with her partner. "When our baby was born, I had approximately zero examples of trans women raising children," she wrote then. "So here's one for anyone who wants to see one. I'm a trans woman and a mom. This is possible." Support from friends and fans poured in, but "for some reason I don't really understand, it was picked up by everybody on the internet." Major media outlets clickbait-ified the post Ezra thought would only be of interest to her own followers, and an announcement which was meant to be celebratory ended in her receiving a torrent of transphobic abuse. The reaction still baffles her now. "Why would I be on Fox News or CNN.com? I'm not Jennifer Lopez!"
If the experience had one silver lining, it was the sense of mission it instilled into 'All Of Us Flames', Ezra's empowered and cinematic new record, which she began recording right as that post went out. Turning pain and anguish into fervent rock and roll is a trademark of Ezra's music, which often deals with topics of outsiderdom and mental health. Hateful comments became ammunition when she realised what the album's purpose was and what it could mean to the queer community. "It's got to be a weapon you can use. It's gotta be armour. I know just a handful of people will use it that way, but I hope that they will."
