Blueberry Boat

by

The Fiery Furnaces

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I've had the pleasure of listening to The Fiery Furnace's sophomore album, Blueberry Boat several times in the past two weeks. It's nearly killed off music altogether for me. I'm not sure how Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart fans did it in the seventies. Idea's so fervent that they're coming out of every quoin of every movement in every epic-and that's just one of the thirteen songs on the Furnaces huge, end-of-it-all follow up to last years Gallowsbird's Bark debut.

By "end-of-it-all" I basically mean that it's all over. There wont be a crazier, more rewarding listening experience this year. If there is, I'm dead-I just don't think I have the energy, in fact, I'm still not sure that my ears (or patience) will make it through Blueberry. Sole members (as well as brother and sister) Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger have moved away from their impatient folk approach to a more lush, impulsive, anything goes style that recalls the headaches last heard while trying to make yourself love Trout Mask Replica.

The blistering guitar work is still there, as are the Midwestern coffee shop vocals and sweet melodies; wait till you hear what they added. In the sixties, if you made a jump like this, you were automatically rumored to be headed towards drug rehab. The Furnaces plethora of idea's are the real thing; while they are challenging and at times confusing, they always pay off in time, every one of them.

The meat of Blueberry is built on five, eight-plus minute tracks that utilize several movements whom often bask in their own genre-jumping glory. Matthew's guitar goes from cerebral backing exercise to all out, front and center, extended solos. Eleanor's barrage of piano work, keyboard effects, and sweetheart indie-pop vocals mark the arrival of a creative monster; leading her way through a seemingly impossible album intent on being catchy, peerless, and formidable.

This is the sound of grad school. It's nauseating. It's confusing. It's annoying and difficult. Blueberry Boat is an example of a band with the confidence to try to do something that has never been done-and that's a rare find. To most, Blueberry will be too much, to no one will it not be enough. This is the product of focused excess. This is the sound of Midwestern progressive rock, via New York City. This will not be where music changes for the better, and that's too bad. That was going too far, but really, Blueberry is THAT shocking of a listen. This is me, being overly enthusiastic-it's almost over.

For listeners looking to challenge both their endurance and their tolerance, this is it. Blueberry is downright hateable and admirable all at once. The ones who do click with Blueberry will very likely have a new `desert island' album on their hands, that's the power of music this imaginative and dense with direction. Few people will love this album, many will hate it-no one could have ever imagined it, not even Beefheart.

Ok, imagine a car. You're driving. At the back seat, there are your father, granny and two brothers. One of the bros is a fan of computer sounds, he can't get enough of experimenting, the other boy likes classical rock and elecrtic guitars, your father plays a piano and granny is constantly telling fairy-tales and children stories. And they fight, they all have their ideas, their stories to tell, one tries to overtrump the other. And everyone tries to press oneself into the front seat.

And who sits on the front seat, next to you? It's your sister, singing. She's a nice person, with a unique tweak and you like her, but you've known her a long life and it's getting a bit boring. Plus, the windows are open and sometimes you pass some additional musicians. But in general, all the people in the car are getting along quite well.

And what are you thinking? You're thinking, you like it. Of course you like it, you have to, they're your family. And sometimes they really have nice moments. But still there's something wrong. You find it interesting, but it doesn't rock. You find it cute, but it doesn't excite you. You would just like to go a bit faster, but there are speed limits. And you cannot decide, if you should throw someone out of the car, or maybe you should just write some better tunes for you family to perform.

And you know, that if you let the family outside, thy would be crazier and better (live on stage). And you remember, that there were better times, times, when you found that your family rocks (previous album GALLOWBIRD'S BARK).

You don't know, what to do.