September 20, 2009
Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, brother and sister, are the creative centre of The Fiery Furnaces. They come from New York, and have the appropriate unsmiling cool. Eleanor, the singer, has a kind of Patti Smith look to her, skinny and intense, with frazzy late-seventies hair and a black leather jacket. She stares out at the audience and points her finger, as if she's got something very important and very odd to tell us. In a live gig, it's difficult to catch exactly what she's singing, but you get a flavour of an elaborate, deadpan, storytelling style.
Musically they're all over the place, in a good way. Totally disinterested in verse-chorus-verse, one song by the Furnaces can contain many different styles, tunes, and tempos . It often sounds like nice, simple lo-fi Lou Reed type stuff, but then it'll veer off suddenly into freak-out jazz, or reggae, or something like a slightly spooky version of some lost TV theme tune. The accuracy and energy of the playing from Matthew Friedberger and his rhythm section is really impressive, and they create a fascinating backdrop for Eleanor's flat and focused vocals. As a live act, they can be a bit hard work, as it's often difficult to get a handle on one of their songs before it starts to change, but it really made me want to hunt down one of their albums.
The support acts, Inlight and Talk in Code, were in comparison a little lacking in ideas and to be honest, balls. Talk in Code had a bit more momentum to them, but they need to find something more interesting for their keyboard player to do. The lead guitarist of Inlight was having great fun with his effects pedal, which reminded me of one of my favourite 90s bands, Kitchens of Distinction.
Musically they're all over the place, in a good way. Totally disinterested in verse-chorus-verse, one song by the Furnaces can contain many different styles, tunes, and tempos . It often sounds like nice, simple lo-fi Lou Reed type stuff, but then it'll veer off suddenly into freak-out jazz, or reggae, or something like a slightly spooky version of some lost TV theme tune. The accuracy and energy of the playing from Matthew Friedberger and his rhythm section is really impressive, and they create a fascinating backdrop for Eleanor's flat and focused vocals. As a live act, they can be a bit hard work, as it's often difficult to get a handle on one of their songs before it starts to change, but it really made me want to hunt down one of their albums.
The support acts, Inlight and Talk in Code, were in comparison a little lacking in ideas and to be honest, balls. Talk in Code had a bit more momentum to them, but they need to find something more interesting for their keyboard player to do. The lead guitarist of Inlight was having great fun with his effects pedal, which reminded me of one of my favourite 90s bands, Kitchens of Distinction.