Ezra Furman is a musician who breaks through the fourth wall – forgoing the distance of the all-too-aloof modern singer/songwriter, and instead replacing that with an intimacy and personal focus in each show. A typical performance features ongoing conversations between artist and audience, with Furman manically wavering between fawning adulation for life and an acerbic wit reminiscent of a young and cerebral Dylan toying with a roomful of interviewers.

This is only one of many contradictions that define Furman, who splices together folk sentimentality and punk energy to forge a style both beautiful and wild. Raised in Evanston, Illinois, Ezra attended private Jewish day school for the first nine years of his academic life, and much of that spiritual upbringing is still evident in the heartfelt themes and archetypal imagery of his songwriting. Upon graduating to the tumultuous halls of public high school, a flood of culture imposed itself on Ezra – ranging from the bruising, sweat-drenched mosh pits of basement punk concerts to the kitschy run-down cafes where he first tried playing his own songs. After meeting he Harpoons at Tufts University, Furman escalated what had been a penchant for open mic cameos and street-side crooning to a full-scale rock n’ roll addiction.

There is a palpable sincerity and enthusiasm Furman feels for music. His songs are deeply emotional with lyrics both poetic and clever, powerfully vitriol and intensely introspective. They speak of the promise of youth and the fear associated with actively watching it slip away. They are songs that can be innocent and delicate, and they are songs that can also rattle your teeth with a sonorous electricity.

Furman, who embarked on the quixotic feat of recording original, personalized songs for over a hundred fans, is a man who simultaneously embraces the changing face of music while still harking back to the Brit-pop patriarchs and doo-wop matriarchs. And much like the early careers of these rock n' roll forefathers, Furman's life consists of the road, his guitar, and the venue du jour. In humid concert halls and dark bars, you can pick out his rail-thin form frantically tottering around the stage like a man unsure of his direction, and you can hear the soulful and warbling timbre of his voice pleading for you to come along on this journey regardless.