The Friedbergers are back, and with a sunnier, lighter feeling album than you might be used to from them as well. Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger are, of course, The Fiery Furnaces, a band whose back catalogue includes some of the most talked about indie releases of the past decade, including Blueberry Boat, Bitter Tea, an album recorded with their Grandmother (Rehearsing My Choir), and who could forget the epic, but probably way too long live album from last year, Remember.
The bottom line is that The Fiery Furnaces are pretty good at keeping their fans on their toes. You really never know what they might do next. While there’s nothing predictable about the band, their upcoming album (their third release on Chicago-based label Thrill Jockey Records) sees the band going back to basics in some ways, and it pulls their fans back that may have been ostricized during some of their more polarizing moments.
I’m Going Away carries a lighter air about it in general, with shorter poppier numbers led by the always steady piano work from Matthew. The sunnier feel is intentional too, as Matthew has said that the album means to take on more of a sitcom approach, like “Taxi”, as opposed to a full length feature film, like “Titanic.”
And if the parallel holds, I’d take it a step further and say that the key-driven tunes, combined with Eleanor’s infectious croon make for a perfect summer soundtrack in the city, with songs like “The End Is Near”, “Charmaine Champaign” and “I’m Going Away” coming in fast and short with just at or under three minutes of summer heat. It’s another change of pace for the band, who really bowled us over with their last studio album, Widow City, which seemed to really show off the band’s muscles with big swooping rock tunes that moved to the steady bass guitar heartbeat provided by Furnaces collaborator and Sebadoh member Jason Loewenstein (who also happens to have recorded and mixed I’m Going Away.)
Future Sounds first caught wind of Lissy back in November of 2008, when we got an early copy of the rough demos that would later be the Self-Taught Learner EP and instantly connected with the tough-chick vocals that are reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. A former graphic designer and high-fashion model, she appeared in places like Elle and SOMA and was the face of Chloe Sevigny’s clothing line, as well regular scene DJ in New York City. Yet, it was music that was always her calling. Lissy (real name: Lizzy McChesney) formed a band that caused enough of a stir that she’s recently signed with Wichita Records in the UK, and with Downtown Records in the US (what indie band wouldn’t be in heaven with that combo?).
We chatted them up and found out they are writing their forthcoming full-length and so gave Future Sounds & WOXY the exclusive preview of a new song, “U Bleed U” from the next batch of tracks.
The Lissy Trullie cover of “Ready For The Floor” rivals, if not tops, Hot Chip’s original version, but on this Friday morning after they played a sold out show at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles with The Virgins, they delivered a couple tracks we’ve been spinning on the weekly show live: “Boy Boy” and “Self-Taught Learner”. The band is still on the road with The Virgins rapping up a US tour before jumping over to Europe in Mid June for tour dates there.
Track Listing:
Bad Boy
Self-Taught Learner
U Bleed U (unreleased)
(For today’s “This Just In” feature, please join me in welcoming our new contributor Paige and get ready to hear a lot more from her in the coming months.)
The last full length Dave Longstreth and his Dirty Projectors released was 2007’s Rise Above, an imagined version of Black Flag’s Damaged culled together from memory. Since that brave if somewhat difficult release, Angel Deradoorian has joined the group permanently as bassist and vocalist, they’ve written with David Byrne, and generally risen to indie-fame with a slew of tours and festival performances. All this attention is remarkable considering the band’s reputation for being geeky, avant and generally difficult to listen to.
The steadfast Longstreth follower was probably pleased with the treatment of Rise Above: it was a noticeable development for him in terms of arrangement and execution, and the touring band he assembled (now his cast for Bitte Orca) raised the bar for just about everyone. The Projector novice could listen and become familiar with Longstreth’s loping vocals, the absolutely academic guitar work and the band’s love affair with close-range harmony and listener challenges without ever giving a damn about Black Flag. Compared to previous releases, Rise Above took the complexity of Longstreth’s songwriting to a new level but bordered on exclusionary. Bitte Orca marks a resolution between the songwriter that is, at heart, a pop artist and an avant composer simultaneously.
It’s unavoidable: Bitte Orca is a challenge. There’s absolutely no allegiance to traditional structures or signatures, and the three vocalists (Longstreth, along with Deradoorian and rhythm guitarist Amber Coffman) effortlessly play with each other’s voices through harmony and note-hopping gymnastics throughout. Still, Bitte Orca manages to be utterly listenable, lithe and concise. There’s no fluff here, no filler tracks. Rarely is such a brainy record so purely enjoyable.
Opener “Cannibal Resource” introduces the rest of the album as well as any lead track could. The off-kilter time signature, layers of vocal harmony and intermittent claps are pinned together by Longstreth’s guitar, which is remarkable considering the fact that the guitar only appears occasionally in the tune. Right away we’re asked to cope with the agility of the group’s songwriting, and yet here it is, track one, utterly melodic and memorable. “Temecula” and “The Bride” scream Jimmy Page immediately with both tune and production, slowing down the frenetic mood leftover from track one. Their ease and accessibility are sequestered for “Stillness Is the Move”, a jaunting, toe-tapping tune that introduces female lead vocals and a modest dose of four on the floor relief. “Two Doves” brings things even closer to earth with its loose homage to Nico’s version of Jackson Browne’s “These Days”. “Useful Chamber” — a sort of title track — brings Longstreth’s Page fantasy to fruition with a mid-song breakdown and fuzzed-out guitar chorus. Another highlight is transition-tune “No Intention”, a sweetly sung pop swash hoisted by intricate guitar noodling and soaring falsettos. All the while, Longstreth’s skills are met with remarkable technical precision from the rest of the band. As often as he is referred to as the driving force of this group, he’s been unbelievably generous with the group — they’re given the keys and asked to drive throughout.
At any point on this record, the ensemble is struggling between pop fancy and compositional esotericism, and though many will find the songs busy or overwhelming, careful listens reveal an astounding restraint in these arrangements. After years of burgeoning home recordings and rotating band members, Longstreth has released his most shining accomplishment yet — one that will earn him attention in circles that might surprise him. Longtime fans that are frustrated with increased accessibility take note: Bitte Orca might be more accessible than anything prior, but it’s certainly not any less dense. Easily one of 2009’s most gratifying and addictive listens.
It has already been a very busy 2009 for John Vanderslice. Since the beginning of the new year, John has already embarked on the “Gone Primitive Tour” with friend and fellow prolific musician John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his now storied studio in San Fransisco, Tiny Telephone, and released an excellent album for a new record label, Dead Oceans.
Despite the busy schedule, John and his touring band were able to drop by the WOXY Lounge again this summer for a return performance while out on the road with The Tallest Man On Earth. Enjoy this performance that features four great songs from his brand new album, Romanian Names.
The deluxe edition box set will include all five Pixies studio albums – Come On Pilgrim (1987), Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990), and Trompe le Monde (1991) – on 24k layered CD and Blu-ray (five discs total), with reinterpreted artwork by Vaughan Oliver, the graphic designer who created all of the artwork that accompanied the Pixies’ studio albums. Also included in the Deluxe Edition will be a DVD of a Pixies 1991 performance at the Brixton Academy in London, the group’s videos, possible bonus tracks, and a 54-page book, all housed in a custom slipcase.
So, to enter this contest send an email to woxycontests at gmail dot com with the subject line reading “Pixies Box”, feel free to say whatever you want in the email that might sway our opinion, cash bribes, your undying love for the band and for WOXY etc.
Good luck! And in the meantime, check out these two videos about the box sets!
This was the third Lounge Act session for Cincy rockers Wussy, although their first here playing with new drummer Joe Klug (formerly of Staggering Statistics).
For their third (and self-titled) album, they worked again with John Curley. This time around, Chuck & Lisa seem to split their singing duties pretty evenly.
We caught the band before heading out on a brief East Coast tour. Check out this performance and then be sure to see them when they hit cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and NYC in the weeks ahead.
This week on Local Lixx, we bounce in and around the tri-state area as usual, getting music from Cincinnati and Columbus. But we also blur the lines a bit with music from a couple of artists usually not heard on this program. Enjoy another brand new episode of Local Lixx.
In advance of headlining the opener of Cincinnati’s Indie Summer series, Peter Adams and his backing band The Nocturnal Collective returned for their second performance in the Lounge. They first played for us just over a year earlier, shortly after the release of I Woke With Planets In My Face, Peter’s second record, which came in at #54 on the 97 Best of 2008. It’s an orchestral indie-pop gem.
In fact, we were catching them just as they were preparing to go on hiatus in order to allow Peter to work on providing music for a pair of upcoming film projects. The quintet played a pair of tunes from both Planets, his 2004 debut The Spiral Eyes and a new tune that’s yet to be released.
The summer concert season is in full swing and we have another great concert to present to you coming up next week. WOXY.com is proud to present Ted Leo & The Pharmacists along with Titus Andronicus and Pomegranates next Monday, June 15th at the Southgate House in Newport.
This should be great show as we are fans of all three of the bands on the bill. And, just like previous WOXY.com presents shows, we have tickets to give away to you!
To qualify for the ticket giveaway, just send an email to woxycontests at gmail dot com with the subject line reading “Ted Leo RX”. We will take entries up until this Saturday and notify the winners on Monday morning. Please be sure you are able to attend the show before entering.
When we last caught up with White Rabbits, it was for their performance on the WOXY.com stage during the inaugural Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in 2007. At that time, the band was touring their debut album, Fort Nightly, which ended up being a station favorite, placing at #24 on our 97 best of 2007.
In the time since then, the band have released their sophomore effort, It’s Frightening on the TBD label and employed Britt Daniel of Spoon to help with production on the new album. The new record is a big step forward for the band, who we already loved, and we are really enjoying the new material.
In this performance, you get four songs from It’s Frightening, and the band chats with Joe about how a small mistake helped lead them to Britt Daniel, and the process of recording the new album as well.
