The Fiery Furnaces
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The Fiery Furnaces are an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band, formed in 2000 in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.. - ''In 2000 they moved Brooklyn... and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year''. - Allmusic The band's primary members are
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
and
Eleanor Friedberger Eleanor Friedberger (born September 2, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as one half of the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces, alongside her older brother Matthew Friedberger. In the band she co ...
. The siblings are originally from
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
, a near-western suburb of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. They are known for their ambitious, highly conceptual releases, which have frequently divided critical opinion. In May 2011, the band entered a nine-year hiatus, with both Matthew and Eleanor pursuing solo careers. In February 2020, it was announced that The Fiery Furnaces would reunite to play at the
Pitchfork Music Festival The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The fe ...
in Chicago. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
the event was canceled. It was later revealed that the band signed to Jack White's
Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...
label.


History

The Fiery Furnaces signed with Rough Trade in 2002, and recorded their debut album, '' Gallowsbird's Bark'', the same year. Released in 2003, it was often compared in the press to
The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
BBC Review of Gallowsbird's Bark (dated March 11 2003). Retrieved on 8/22/2008
/ref> due to the
garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
elements of the band's sound and the fact that the members are siblings, which the White Stripes duo originally presented themselves as. Matthew is primarily responsible for the band's studio instrumentation and songwriting, while Eleanor handles the majority of the vocal duties.
Drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Andy Knowles Andy Knowles (born Andrew John Knowles; 30 June 1981, in Bolton) is an artist, director and musician. Knowles started his drumming career with Skuta, and then in 2003 formed the cult group I Love Lucy out of the Glaswegian Art rock scene. Tour ...
and
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Toshi Yano Toshi Yano is an American rock musician, playing bass and keyboard. He was a founding member of the Washington, D.C., hardcore band Battery, the New York hardcore band Violent Bullshit, and of Kapow!, a Brooklyn-based band. Yano also worked as a r ...
both joined the band for live performances in time for their 2004 tour. Beginning with a performance at the April 2004
All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...
festival in Camber Sands, England, the band's live performances took the form of hour-long, continuous sets of music featuring snippets from most of their recorded songs. Many times, several songs were melded together to create a conglomerate song that encompassed material from previously released songs, this producing similarly complicated set lists for the band to follow."Fiery Furnaces Setlist (dated September 18, 2004)"
. . Retrieved on 12 July 2007.
The Fiery Furnaces released their second album, ''
Blueberry Boat ''Blueberry Boat'' is the second album by American indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces. It was released on July 13, 2004, just over ten months following their debut album, '' Gallowsbird's Bark''. ''Blueberry Boat'' polarized music critics due to ...
'', in the summer of 2004. It is also often interpreted as a multi-layered
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
. "Quay Cur," the ten-minute lead track on Blueberry Boat, switches from dirty, gurgling organ to slide-guitar-fueled ditties, pulsing electronic beats to abstract
lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...
within a few minutes, highlighting the Fiery Furnaces' variety in songwriting. Some critics, however, interpreted this type of material as evidence that the album is unfocused. The epic nature of the majority of the songs made them unsuitable for radio play so the band prepared "Single Again," a take on a traditional folk song as a substitute. This single, along with their previously released ones, was mostly only made available to the UK audience, so in January 2005 the band released a 41-minute compilation disc named '' EP'' (this confusingly being a designation commonly reserved for shorter discs). ''EP'' featured two new songs, all of the band's singles and
b-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
(with the exception of an alternate version of "We Got Back The Plague" found on the "Tropical Ice-Land" single), and was for this reason a contrast to the epic and, according to some, inaccessible nature of ''Blueberry Boat''. Their following album, ''
Rehearsing My Choir ''Rehearsing My Choir'' is the fourth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces and was released in 2005. It is a concept album featuring Olga Sarantos, grandmother of the band's Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, narrating stories relating to her l ...
'' (released in October 2005), saw the band return to an experimental sound once again. A
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
featuring the Friedbergers' grandmother, Olga Sarantos, narrating stories about her life, ''Rehearsing My Choir'' was met with widely differing opinions from both the
press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...
and the band's fans, being branded "difficult" even by those who rated it highly. "AllMusic Guide Review, retrieved on 22 August 2008"/ref> Sarantos previously worked as choir director at a
Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
church, and her croaked reminiscences form the backbone to this peculiar, piecemeal storybook of an album.Pattison, Lewis
"Amazon.co.uk: Rehearsing My Choir Review"
Amazon.com. Retrieved on 12 July 2007.
Jason Loewenstein Jason Loewenstein (born July 20, 1971) is an American alternative rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and a member of the indie-rock bands Sebadoh, The Fiery Furnaces, and Circle of Buzzards. He grew up in Northampton, Mass ...
of
Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for hi ...
and
Bob D'Amico Bob D'Amico is an American drummer. He is best known as the drummer for indie rock bands The Fiery Furnaces and Sebadoh. Discography With Set On Stun Studio albums * '' Reveals the Shocking Truth...'' CD (1998, Distance Formula Recordings) ...
took over band duties for the supporting tour, replacing
Toshi Yano Toshi Yano is an American rock musician, playing bass and keyboard. He was a founding member of the Washington, D.C., hardcore band Battery, the New York hardcore band Violent Bullshit, and of Kapow!, a Brooklyn-based band. Yano also worked as a r ...
and
Andy Knowles Andy Knowles (born Andrew John Knowles; 30 June 1981, in Bolton) is an artist, director and musician. Knowles started his drumming career with Skuta, and then in 2003 formed the cult group I Love Lucy out of the Glaswegian Art rock scene. Tour ...
. The band released their fifth LP, entitled ''
Bitter Tea ''Bitter Tea'' is the fifth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces, released on April 18, 2006, via Fat Possum in the U.S and Rough Trade in the UK. After it leaked onto the internet on February 22, the band immediately started selling the CD on ...
'', in April 2006. In interviews they stated that the album was influenced by the sound of
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
group
Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
, and Eleanor Friedberger stated the album was "definitely the poppiest thing we've done.""Stomp and Stammer - Bitter Tea review, retrieved on 22 August 2008"
Matthew Friedberger released '' Winter Women and Holy Ghost Language School'' in August 2006, two separate albums which were packaged as a
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
. According to a press release, ''Winter Women'' is "intended to be a summer record, full of memorable, catchy, and un-ironic pop songs," while ''Holy Ghost Language School'' is like "
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
,
the Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...
, or the most 'out' moments of
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
's solo records.""Matt Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces readies solo debut, by Force Field PR, retrieved on 22 August 2008"
/ref> Eleanor appeared on neither album and Matthew did not tour in support of his solo releases. The band did a short tour in October and November 2006, supported by San Francisco
experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
band,
Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...
. This tour saw Matthew on keyboard, Eleanor on vocals,
Jason Loewenstein Jason Loewenstein (born July 20, 1971) is an American alternative rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and a member of the indie-rock bands Sebadoh, The Fiery Furnaces, and Circle of Buzzards. He grew up in Northampton, Mass ...
on
wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...
ed guitar, Bob D'Amico on drums and the addition of Michael Goodman on percussion. The songs had a
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
/
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...
feel to them, and most of the tracks from ''
Bitter Tea ''Bitter Tea'' is the fifth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces, released on April 18, 2006, via Fat Possum in the U.S and Rough Trade in the UK. After it leaked onto the internet on February 22, the band immediately started selling the CD on ...
'' were played as one long song, lasting 30 minutes—a medley format the band previously used while promoting ''
Blueberry Boat ''Blueberry Boat'' is the second album by American indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces. It was released on July 13, 2004, just over ten months following their debut album, '' Gallowsbird's Bark''. ''Blueberry Boat'' polarized music critics due to ...
''."Tall Poppy Interview: The Fiery Furnaces
''The Torontoist'', October 31, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
In June 2007, it was announced in
The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
that the band had signed with Chicago label
Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...
and their album ''
Widow City A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
'' was later released on October 9, 2007. Unlike their two previous efforts, this album lacks a central concept and has a 70s
album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...
feel. The band toured in support of the album throughout the later months of 2007 and early 2008. A live compilation album, ''
Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
'', was released on August 16, 2008. The band's seventh studio album ''
I'm Going Away ''I'm Going Away'' is The Fiery Furnaces' eighth album. It was released, on CD and LP, on July 21, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in the UK. The CD version was presented in a 4 panel mini-LP style jacket. The LP version was pressed on h ...
'' was released in the US on July 21, 2009, on
Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...
and the UK on August 24, 2009. A second album, '' Take Me Round Again'', which presents many of the same songs from "I'm Going Away" in a new way, was released on November 10, 2009. These tracks were made individually by Mathew and Eleanor, resulting in some overlap. These songs have the same lyrics as "I'm Going Away", but consist of completely new instrument and vocal recordings that give a new take on the same material.


Hiatus

The Fiery Furnaces went on an extended hiatus following a brief 2011 tour. Their final concert before the hiatus was on May 27, 2011 at the
Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...
Festival in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Since then, each of the siblings has focused on their solo careers, with Matthew releasing a vinyl box set entitled '' Solos'' in 2011, and Eleanor releasing her first solo album, titled ''
Last Summer ''Last Summer'' is a 1969 teen drama film about adolescent sexuality based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Evan Hunter. Director Frank Perry filmed at Fire Island locations. It stars Catherine Burns, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison and R ...
'', on July 12, 2011.


Return

In early 2020, The Fiery Furnaces announced they would be performing at the
Pitchfork Music Festival The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The fe ...
in Chicago that July, their first live show in nearly a decade. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
the event was cancelled. They ended up performing at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2021. It was later revealed that the band signed to Jack White's
Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...
label. The band returned on 18 June 2020 with a new single, "Down at the So and So on Somewhere", the single received praise from Pitchfork, RollingStone, The Guardian, Uncut, and other publications.


Discography

;Studio albums *'' Gallowsbird's Bark'' (2003) *''
Blueberry Boat ''Blueberry Boat'' is the second album by American indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces. It was released on July 13, 2004, just over ten months following their debut album, '' Gallowsbird's Bark''. ''Blueberry Boat'' polarized music critics due to ...
'' (2004) *'' EP'' (2005) *''
Rehearsing My Choir ''Rehearsing My Choir'' is the fourth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces and was released in 2005. It is a concept album featuring Olga Sarantos, grandmother of the band's Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, narrating stories relating to her l ...
'' (2005) *''
Bitter Tea ''Bitter Tea'' is the fifth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces, released on April 18, 2006, via Fat Possum in the U.S and Rough Trade in the UK. After it leaked onto the internet on February 22, the band immediately started selling the CD on ...
'' (2006) *''
Widow City A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
'' (2007) *''
I'm Going Away ''I'm Going Away'' is The Fiery Furnaces' eighth album. It was released, on CD and LP, on July 21, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in the UK. The CD version was presented in a 4 panel mini-LP style jacket. The LP version was pressed on h ...
'' (2009) *'' Take Me Round Again'' (2009)


References


External links


Official siteNewMusicBox matter: David T. Little's analysis of The Fiery Furnaces' album ''Rehearsing My Choir''NewMusicBox cover: Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger in conversation
with Frank J. Oteri, July 16, 2007 (includes video)
NPR article and downloadable broadcastFiery Furnaces at Luckyhorse Industries8/2009 Fiery Furnaces Interview at Stereo SubversionIndiepit Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiery Furnaces, The Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn Fat Possum Records artists Thrill Jockey artists Rock music duos Rough Trade Records artists Sibling musical duos Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2011