The experimental rock duo The Fiery Furnaces, composed of siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, have reissued their second album, 2004's Blueberry Boat. This re-release marks the album's 20th anniversary and comes as the band prepares for a limited tour. The album, known for its complex structure and unique sound, originally drew strong reactions from critics and fans alike.
Key Takeaways
- The Fiery Furnaces reissued their album Blueberry Boat for its 20th anniversary.
- The album, released in 2004, was recorded before their debut and received mixed critical responses.
- Siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger are known for their unconventional approach to music.
- The band is embarking on a brief US-EU tour to celebrate the re-release.
- They describe themselves as unsuited for mainstream success, preferring their niche in music.
The Genesis of Blueberry Boat
The Fiery Furnaces recorded Blueberry Boat without knowing the future success of their debut album. Their first record, 2003's Gallowsbird's Bark, received positive reviews. Pitchfork, for example, gave it an 8.4 rating, praising its "shambolic rock’n’roll" and Eleanor Friedberger’s "arcane lyricism."
During this period, the band had a five-album deal with Rough Trade. This was a common arrangement for popular Brooklyn bands at the time. However, The Fiery Furnaces' blues-influenced sound differed significantly from the rock revivalism of bands like The Strokes and Interpol.
Band Origins
Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger moved from Chicago to New York. Matthew, as the older brother, bought Eleanor a guitar and drum kit when she was a teenager. Later, Eleanor asked him to join her in playing music when he followed her to the East Coast. This familial connection shaped their unique band dynamic.
Distinguishing Their Sound in New York
Matthew Friedberger, 52, explained the band's desire to stand out. "We were a New York band, and there were a lot of bands where that’s what people knew about them," he said. He felt many bands were defined by their New York origin and a "sort of new-wavy" sound.
Matthew was clear that Blueberry Boat would not fit this mold. "I was pleased with the idea that with Blueberry Boat, at least it would be hard to lump us in with them. We wouldn’t seem like an also-ran New York City band wearing leather jackets," he stated. This perspective highlights their independent artistic vision.
"I thought they were so bad. I just didn’t give a shit about that stuff," Eleanor Friedberger said about other bands in the scene, as quoted in the oral history Meet Me in the Bathroom.
A Divisive and Unique Album
Blueberry Boat was a substantial work, running for 75 minutes. It was described as a "piratical travelogue-cum-rock opera." The album drew inspiration from The Who’s rock suites, such as A Quick One, While He’s Away and Rael. This ambitious scope ensured its distinctiveness.
Upon its release, the album garnered a 9.6 rating from Pitchfork. It also received extensive coverage in alternative weekly newspapers across the United States. In a notable reaction, NME, a prominent UK music magazine, gave it a 1/10 rating. Matthew Friedberger viewed this varied reception positively.
Critical Reception Highlights
- Pitchfork Score: 9.6/10
- NME Score: 1/10
- The album's length is approximately 75 minutes.
"It was a lucky experience to get to do something and have people react to it in its tiny corner of music," Matthew said. He added, "That’s pretty much a dream come true." This sentiment underscores their focus on creative expression over universal acclaim.
Changing Indie Landscape and Band Hiatus
Matthew Friedberger observed a shift in the independent music scene around 2004. He noted that the concept of "indie" music became softer. He recalled supporting bands that had a "religious affiliation" and whose audiences would sit on the floor of venues. This contrasted sharply with The Fiery Furnaces' more abrasive style.
The band experienced some negative interactions during this period. Eleanor mentioned an incident where a member of another band made an inappropriate comment to her. She stated, "One of that band later 'asked to see my tits,' at the Sleater-Kinney edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties." She quickly added, "This is devolving fast."
The Fiery Furnaces released seven studio albums throughout their career. Their music often divided opinion, particularly their 2005 album, Rehearsing My Choir. This album featured their grandmother, Olga Sarantos, narrating her life story. The band quietly went on hiatus in 2011.
Solo Careers and Reunited Efforts
After the hiatus, both Matthew and Eleanor pursued solo careers. Matthew released seven albums in quick succession between 2011 and 2012. These were often played on a single instrument. Eleanor released four records in a 1970s singer-songwriter style, with her last solo album appearing in 2018.
The siblings have now regained the license for Blueberry Boat from Rough Trade. They are reissuing the album for its delayed 20th anniversary. This re-release coincides with a brief tour across the US and Europe. The tour includes support slots with Canadian musician Dan Bejar, known as Destroyer.
Post-Hiatus Activities
- Matthew released 7 solo albums between 2011 and 2012.
- Eleanor released 4 solo albums, the last in 2018.
- The band's upcoming tour includes dates in Brooklyn, London, Brussels, and Utrecht.
Enduring Legacy and Modest Reach
Despite their critical acclaim among some fans, The Fiery Furnaces maintain a relatively small audience today. They currently have 17,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Searching for "fiery furnaces" on TikTok primarily yields religious content, with only a few relevant music clips.
Matthew Friedberger acknowledged this limited reach. "If the record has lived on in some big way, I haven’t noticed it," he said. Neither sibling expressed surprise or disappointment. They described themselves as temperamentally unsuited for mainstream success. "I feel like we both only have a certain capacity for trying to expose ourselves," Eleanor explained. "To be in public, to share things."
The Creative Process and Sibling Dynamic
Matthew Friedberger stated that his aim was to intensify the music with each record, especially up until 2006's Bitter Tea. He drew inspiration from the rapid output of bands like Small Faces and The Clash in the 1980s. "You have two, three, four years and you want to make as much as possible," he reflected.
Eleanor noted that they only took the music itself seriously. "It’s kind of shocking to see how much we didn’t take it seriously, except for the music," she said. She added that they never had the typical attitude about management that other acts displayed. "Maybe that was to our detriment, but we just don’t have that in us."
The sibling dynamic influenced their approach. Matthew suggested that being siblings made pretense impossible. "In another band, you can have this wonderful experience working with each other because you can really remake yourself and be another person," he said. "We definitely weren’t ever going to do that. Being brother and sister, we’re not going to be so impressed with each other."
Their rehearsals often involve discussing family matters. "Our rehearsals for our forthcoming tour dates are more likely to be spent talking about 'family issues with our parents,'" Eleanor shared. Matthew described their decision-making process as "too polite a committee." Eleanor, however, expressed a common complaint: "I would say we talk too much and there’s more talking than action."
Future Plans and Intimate Performances
The band originally planned to reunite and record a new album in 2020. The pandemic disrupted these plans. They released a new single, "Down at the So and So on Somewhere," on Jack White’s Third Man Records that year. They also played a few dates in 2021, but Matthew's new music remained unfinished.
Matthew found it challenging to finish new material without a clear performance context. "It’s fun to imagine a setting," he said. "Rock band is a performance style: you imagine the places you’re playing, who is going to be there. If you’re hazy about all that, it becomes much harder to make the decisions to actually finish something that you like."
The 2021 performances involved a large band, which Matthew found impersonal. "It was like I was standing on the side of the stage doing the lighting even though I was playing the whole time," he recalled. Eleanor had a different experience at their last Los Angeles show. "It felt so good – the sound, how I was singing – that I thought, if this is the last time I ever stand on stage, I’m going to remember this moment."
Eleanor had considered stepping away from music after her last solo tour in early 2020. "The music industry is terrible, it’s more and more expensive to travel and tour, it’s harder to make money," she noted. However, she is now excited to revisit her demos and perform again. The upcoming shows will be more intimate, featuring only the two siblings on stage.
Matthew believes this smaller setup offers more creative freedom. "If it’s just the piano and two people singing, there’s more freedom to make really bad mistakes and for people to notice it and see if it’s stimulating to them or not," he said. "So that’s fun." The Friedbergers theorize that their unique style might be better suited to the current musical landscape. "You can be so much weirder now and no one thinks anything of it," Eleanor stated.
Matthew humorously described this trend as "the Balkanisation of particularisation in these endlessly, specifically curated lives that people are supposed to lead." The reissue of Blueberry Boat is now available on Everything Nice. The Fiery Furnaces will perform at National Sawdust, Brooklyn (October 25), Pitchfork festival, London (November 6), Botanique, Brussels (November 7), and Le Guess Who? festival, Utrecht (November 8).