Details
Track Listing
1. Quay Cur
2. Straight Street
3. Blueberry Boat
4. Chris Michaels
5. Paw Paw Tree
6. My Dog Was Lost But Now He's Found
7. Mason City
8. Chief Inspector Blancheflower
9. Spaniolated
10. 1917
11. Birdie Brain
12. Turning Around
13. Wolf Notes
| Details | | Producer: | Matthew Friedberger | | Distributor: | BMG (distributor) | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
The Fiery Furnaces: Matthew Friedberger, Eleonor Friedberger.
Additional personnel: Samara Lubelski (violin); David Muller (drums).
A quantum leap forward, BLUEBERRY BOAT expands the hallucinatory landscapes of the Fiery Furnaces' debut to wider, indefinable vistas. Though a 1960s aesthetic still looms large in the band's sound, this sophomore effort piles on so many different styles--folk, garage rock, showtunes, campfire sing-alongs, jangle-pop, prog-rock, and (most notably here) samples, beats, and loops--that it is nearly impossible to absorb in one listen. Endearing melodic hooks and a sense of child-like wonder are still prevalent, but BLUEBERRYBOAT feels more like a pop-music history lesson--one rooted in 1969, but looking in every direction at once.
Whereas GALLOWSBIRD'S BARK spun listeners through a stylistic merry-go-round from song to song, BLUEBERRY BOAT achieves the same purpose within the confines of each tune. Tempo shifts and sudden explosions of instrumental activity (both chaotic and traditional) keep each track morphing and shifting. The presence of electronics offsets the retro vibe, yet complements the Freidberger siblings' surreal lyrics (which are sometimes only nonsensical sounds). Bursting at the seams with invention, BLUEBERRY BOAT is the kind of album that may take several listens to understand--but such study will yield deep rewards.
Industry Reviews
Quirkily Mancini-esque and almost boundless in its ability to surprise, BOAT gets under the skin and stays there.
[S]ome of the lyrical sketches are brilliantly evocative....The Fiery Furnaces' detached, minutely detailed observations reach out to the misfits and the hyper-sensitives of the cruel modern world....Very rewarding...
[R]elentlessly inventive hybridization...
4 stars out of 5 - [A]n extraordinary leap into the wide blue yonder, where every song contains at least three great pop tunes battling for supremacy....A polyhedric and endlessly fascinating album...
4 stars out of 5 - [S]tick with its synthetic marionette oompah band designs, become immersed in its whirlwind momentum and flint-eyed wit...[and] conclude that here is one of the most spectacular musical creations of recent times.
4 stars out of 5 - [T]here are intense moments of pop wonder and cartoon hilarity that make you climb aboard for another ride.
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