Fiery Furnaces' Solo Output: Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger

Eclectic brother-sister duo The Fiery Furnaces aim to put out a total of 10 albums this year: one by the band, 8 solo records by Matthew Friedberger, and one by Eleanor, who announced today she's signed with Merge Records. The siblings are both highly intellectual and a bit whacky—that's a given. What we've seen with their solo output though is Matthew lean towards a more idiosyncratic and experiemental sound, while Eleanor, on the freshly leaked "My Mistakes," goes straight for the listener's pop jugular with a razor blade. Is that a saxophone solo at the end of "My Mistakes"? Yes, you better believe it. Eleanor's bringing the sax back to rock & roll.

Eleanor Friedberger - "My Mistakes" (from Last Summer)
Matthew Friedberger - "Meet Me In Miramas" (from Meet Me In Miramas)

Fiery Furnaces shake hips at Benton Harbor

After the release of 2006's Bitter Tea from Brooklyn brother-sister duo The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger stated the album was "definitely the poppiest thing we've done." But it's not until the album's last track, "Benton Harbor Blues (Again)," that the statement comes to fruition. From a band that prizes itself on esoteric rambling and dissonant charm, the song's syncopated bass line and clean upstroke of the guitar form an uncharacteristically clear vision of soulful pop. Friedberg's lyrics may tell the story of a convict pondering past regrets on the streets of Benton Harbor, Michigan, but the lightly picked acoustic guitar and gigantic and soaring organ suggest otherwise.

Fiery Furnaces - "Benton Harbor Blues (Again)" (from Bitter Tea)