Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Bark" is better than their bite, 22 Jul 2005
The Fiery Furnaces seem to be the new king (and queen) of enigmatic, larger-than-life indie rock. While their second album was the one that got things moving, their debut "Gallowsbird's Bark" gained them a reputation for rich music and strange, dreamy writing.
Siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger open things with the jangly, cascading pop of "South Is Only A Home" -- it's a fun little tune, but a bit chaotic-sounding. It's only in the third song, "Leaky Tunnel," that the album kicks into high gear, with banjo and electric guitar, overlaid with sparkling piano and rapid-fire percussion. Then you know that these two are something special.
Dipping into alt-country in places, the Furnaces mostly focus on trippy rock songs and catchy oddball pop songs. There's an out-and-out rocker in "Asthma Attack," a sprawling experimental stretch in "Crystal Clear," and they even try a bluesy acoustic song in "Bright Blue Tie," which only has a few flickery synth bits in the background.
Sparkly, tinkly piano, folky, dreamy, trippy, rock'n'roll and psychedelic music-hall. Those are only a few of the things that come to mind when listening to "Gallowsbird's Park." There's something oddly childlike and dreamy about this music, despite songs about how "if men and wine don't kill me." Perhaps it's the fact that their music has so many facets.
The sole problem seems to be, oddly enough, restraint. The Fiery Furnaces are not now known for their musical restraint, but in this album they seem to be damming up their larger-than-life talents. But even dammed-up, their catchy, complex blend of guitar rock, banjo, and rippling piano is intoxicating, as is the oddball additions. Who knew that a band with garage rock roots could have xylophone and the occasional electronica flicker?
Eleanor Friedberger sounds like she's having a great time here; you can imagine this husky-voiced singer singing a shopping list and sounding great. As it is, she brings a devil-may-care edge to lyrics about paying fines, celebrating the millennium, and oddball rhymes ("Down in the dumps/Me and the seagulls we were looking for lumps").
The Fiery Furnaces are gaining recognition for some of the most original indierock in years. And their enchanting debut is a rollicking, frolicking romp that never gets dull.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
mutant psychedelia meets future classic, 14 Jan 2004
A fantastic mish-mash of psychedelia, punk, folk, blues and that indefinable factor 'x'which is the hall mark of all great rock records, the Fiery Furnaces debut album was a damn sight more interesting than 90% of the music that got all those jaded media renta-hack types foaming at the mouth in 2003. Densely fractured and unrepentedly weird, the music on this cd is a far cry from the so called 'new wave' of bands who merely re-hash the past and are then celebrated as innovators. There are reference points for sure (both Patti Smith and Ron Asheton spring to mind) but taken as a whole this is the sort of thing that will probably only get the recognition it deserves once non-existant sales and/or critical indifference have ensured that the band are consigned to some premature rock cemetry. Do yourself a favour and get a future classic now.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's put the future behind us, 22 April 2004
A wonderful, quixotic, sea-shanty-punk crackle of garage rock filteredthrough delta blues, folk and anything else that serves the Friedlandersiblings' creative muse. Nothing contained in the songs is easilyidentifiable or open to easy categorisation. Eleanor is a potent presence,part Patti Smith, part Chrissy Hinde, but wholly her own woman. She'stough but soft, cool yet hot. The album repays repeated listenings as thesongs are difficult to decode, but once you've discerned their internallogic, yours is a richer world. Enjoy.
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