The Fiery Furnaces - EP

Genre rock Publisher Rough Trade External Links Official Site Rough Trade

With keyboards chirping over their shoulders, the Fiery Furnaces singsong their way through traveling tales and confounding situations. Unconventional lyrics interact with an array of warped instrumental tracks in a layered pastiche of pop songs. They repeatedly reaffirm their pop-rock approach to tunes with catchy choruses and driving rhythms. Their ear for tune and arrangement can carry them only so far however, as their songs fail to seal the deal emotionally or lyrically and on too many occasions.

EP's melodies are familiar enough, and the musical elements are typical, but the Fiery Furnaces combine the pieces into a slightly skewed production. They play at rock, but with keyboard leads rather than guitars and lyric fragments depicting dream scenarios incorporating an odd descriptivism. They are toying with rock forms, incorporating different influences and warping them into something understandable as a whole, but less so in its parts. A nice trick, but difficult to love, if you are looking for any specifics in these songs.

The instrumentation is typical: drums, keys, guitar, bass, and vocals. However, in Fiery Furnaces' arrangements the keys mock, mimic and carry the melody throughout the songs. Squirrelly synth lines follow the vocal melodies and a layer of keyboard tones and textures dominate the instrumental tracks. Guitars and pianos get pushed to the back of the mix and relegated uncommon duties, providing texture and feel rather than driving the songs. Thankfully, they treat the rhythms with the importance they deserve and the drums drive and bounce the songs, never failing the tune.

Lyrically, the songs confuse. There are singsong tales of spousal abuse in their remake of "Single Again," and traveling songs depicting odd whimsical moments. Eleanor Friedberger frequently loses herself to these flights of imagination and though they connect melodically, do not inspire lyrically. Matthew Friedberger, her brother, sings on two tracks, with the same obscure and too cute by a half lyricism and half the voice. Where Eleanor's voice bobs, weaves, and holds its own among the snyth glitches, Matthew's gets lost amongst the clutter, losing to the nearly anthemic "Sweet Spots" and straining in the sea shanty "Sing for Me."

There is enough here to keep the pop fan happy. The tunes work but the lack of references leaves us grasping at absurdist lines that do not stick around long enough for us to care. It is unfortunate, as Eleanor's voice is a wonderful instrument, blending in with the keys and creating something truly unique. Though focused, the songs remain perplexing and without a sense of mystery or playfulness beyond the clever use of keyboards, this begins to frustrate rather than amuse.