The Fiery Furnaces ‘EP’ (Rough Trade)

Few bands around can match the prolific output of The Fiery Furnaces. Having released two albums since Oct 2003 and with another due in a couple of months time, the Friedberger brother-sister duo still have enough extra material to fill this 10-track EP of singles and b-sides. You could see it all getting a bit samey but in fact the more you hear from them, the harder they are to pin down.

‘Gallowsbird’s Bark’, their debut album, was all deranged blues and twisted garage, while the follow-up ‘Blueberry Boat’ was a carnival-esque concept record. The tracks on EP show their pop side, albeit not the most conventional pop ever. The fantastic ‘Single Again’ sees electro squelches and keyboard flourishes swirl round singer, Eleanor’s brutish litany of failed relationships. New track ‘Here Comes the Summer’ approaches the power synth pop of the 80s, while ‘Evergreen’ is a delicate and pretty song that still encompasses a subtle backwards drum and Eleanor’s delightful wordplay.

There’s just so much going on in every song they wrote. They often get compared to the White Stripes, mainly due to the sibling factor (though the Friedberger’s claim is unquestioned), but where Jack White strips the blues down to its essentials, The Fiery Furnaces dress it up in all manner of fancy accoutrements. Forget minimalism, maximalism is back. The classical keys and cymbal rushes of ‘Sing For Me’, the Sgt Pepper-era psychedelia of ‘Cousin Chris’ and the uniquely brilliant ‘Tropical Iceland’ highlight their range. But they retain their roots in the blues, whilst branching off spectacularly as they grow.

There’s not too many bands you can describe as both a singles and album band. The Fiery Furnaces achieve that status with ease. They may never find themselves troubling the charts but Fiery Furnaces are the no.1 band around.

words: Colm Larkin

Have your say here