Handsome Furs Excited for Juno Awards Red Carpet: 'I Never Get to Dress Up!'

With only a few days to go before the 2010 Juno Awards on April 18, the clock is ticking for nominees to get their red carpet ensembles ready. Handsome Furs keyboardist Alexei Perry, whose latest album with husband and Wolf Parade member Dan Boeckner, 'Face Control,' is up for Alternative Album of the Year, seems far from having a fashion meltdown though.

"We're going to pull through our nicer clothes and at some point over the next couple days to decide what looks pretty," Perry tells Spinner on the line from Montreal.

"I never ever thought that would be happening in my life, trying to decide what to wear to the Junos."

Ask just about any journalist to recount their top picks of 2009 and Handsome Furs' sophomore release is amongst the chosen titles -- Spinner even picked it our best Canadian album of last year. Peppered with moody synth-pop and dance-y tempos, 'Face Control' was a critical success but Perry insists that being nominated alongside Tegan and Sara, Japandroids, Metric and Julie Dorion was not something the pair ever expected.

"We were pretty shocked to be totally honest," she says. "We don't feel like these Canadian darlings, so it felt a little funny. It's a really, really lovely thing to be liked by these people that you didn't think actually liked you though -- that feels great."

"It's one of those things that your parents get to be proud of," Perry continues. "I mean, you might not tell your friends right away, but your mom is stoked."

So how does the Montreal-based musician feel about being dubbed "alternative"?

"The categories, all of them, are probably a little out-of-date," she says. "'Alternative' feels like the 1990s, but it's hard to know whether being in an 'indie rock' category would make me feel better. Once these things get enough popularity, the original concept behind the movement changes so much that it almost doesn't matter."

"Basically," she giggles, "it just means 'Not on the Radio Music.'"

As for who might receive thanks should Handsome Furs be called to the podium on Sunday night?

"Oh gosh, there's no way we're winning," says Perry, shrugging off the question. "I'm just going because I never get to dress up. I mean, really dress up."