In Stores Now: I'm Going Away by the Fiery Furnaces

Illustration by Edmund Dulac from Han Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, 1911

The Fiery Furnaces have been doing pretty well since coming on the scene with their rhythm-heavy rock debut Gallowsbird's Bark in 2003 - they've released six ambitious albums and gained a sizable fan following. But there hasn't been a spate of Fiery Furnaces imitators - this is probably because their appeal is not highly replicable. Vocalist Eleanor Friedberger's throaty, rapid-fire scat-singing is a big part of their appeal, as is her brother Matthew's knack for layering sounds and building rock epics. Their collage-style live performances mix their discography into disjointed medleys. Their discography includes an album-length EP of straightforward pop songs, a bizarre cut-and-paste live album, an overstuffed rock opera about a blueberry smuggler, and a full album of songs sung by their grandmother. The Fiery Furnaces are dead set on doing their own thing, and their fans are definitely disciples of the more-is-more school.

The ever-restless Fiery Furnaces are challenging their fans once again with I'm Going Away, this time by making a less-is-more album of classic, piano-based pop. The album still has its share of chugging riffage, like the opener "I'm Going Away" and "Charmaine Champagne" (which, in characteristic Furnaces style, reappears in a different form later in the tracklist as "Cups & Punches"). But the album is dominated by mid-tempo numbers and piano ballads, a choice which doesn't seem to play to the band's strengths. It works for me, though - Eleanor's vocals are just as appealing with sultry melodies that stay within her limited range. And Matthew's arrangements are almost more interesting when they aren't causing sensory overload. The album's most normal-sounding pop songs have their quirks - "Drive to Dallas" starts slow but accelerates into a pounding rave-up at the three-minute mark, "Cut the Cake" has a very jarring, squealing guitar solo, and "Lost at Sea" somehow devolves into a bongo jam. And then there's "Even in the Rain".

My favorite song on the album, "Even in the Rain" probably has the most classic-sounding melody and arrangement. But, even though it's a piano-based number, it has at least four distinct guitar parts: the standard FF-style electric lead, a staccato acoustic strum buried in the mix, a fuzzy wah-wah that comes in on the chorus, and an ELO-ish slide guitar that appears toward the end. I'm afraid that some Fiery Furnaces fans may decide the band has nothing new to offer with I'm Going Away, but I think that this album's lighter touch is a smart way to go. I just don't count on them sticking with it.

"Even in the Rain" by the Fiery Furnaces