Fiery Furnaces sans sis: Matthew Friedberger's Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School

Maybe it's partly because I hear so little "new" music these days that I'm more easily satisfied by the output of the few current bands I am really into, while reviewers hear lots of good stuff and so are more inclined to be tough on something that doesn't totally thrill them.

But, y'know, like tons of other folks, I like rock, pop, the Aphex Twin, song that remind me of Dylan, songs that remind me of different musical "styles" without really sounding a whole lot like them, lyrics about unusual subject matter (even if it's hard to tell what's going on), creative graphic design (the lyric transcriptions are arranged to take the shape of relevant objects, like a train, a river, Pennsylvania, etc.!)... albums that follow one or more guiding (and maybe somewhat risky, or not "fully developed") musical ideas... the general concept of a really talented guy, in a studio with a bunch of electronic crap, recording odd and very specific-sounding songs that may, or may not, achieve what he's going for (but are always interesting, even when they don't seem to quite "pan out")... How hard is all that to like?

ii) i think it's the "very specific" which is the problem, to be honest.

iii) although i dunno which way you meant it. i am a lot fonder of these because they get rid of the VERY SPECIFIC particular drum machine and keyboard sounds that were swamping the EP and the less interesting bits of ...choir and most of bitter tea.

iv) on the other hand, lots of ppl i know will not listen to choir bcz it of the very specific effect of having an old woman talking over the top of it.

v) i find these records a lot more enjoyable to put on while i do something and pick them up bit by bit rather than to listen to on headphones and try and give my full attention to, which is impossible. bcz of the songwriting, the arrangements, the mixing, how all over the place it all is. like a shotgun painting.

vi) time for them to try working with an outside producer who has saner working methods, like eno in '76 or something.

I agree these albums make for better "background" listening than for sitting there concentrating on them.

not talked to many people who actually listen to music lately then?

I don't know, maybe not, but I was responding to the negative critical reaction. I'm surprised critics aren't finding this stuff more rewarding than many of the ones writing the reviews seem to be. But, again, I don't hear much new stuff, so maybe these CDs aren't as neat as they seem to me, when weighed against everything else out there. I just like his style, the sound effects, many of the songs, reading the interviews, how he talks about the next album, and the next two after that... it's like he's really in motion, doing so much cool stuff.

i wasn't sure if "very specific" meant the way that he approaches things as specific missions/projects (which i am for), or the way that he is coming to have a very particular set of sounds he likes to deploy (which i am against, a lot of the time, because particularly on 'bitter tea' i thought 'man i wish he'd done something a bit different with this.)

Well, that's true, and I see that the items in my list of "like tons of other folks, I like..." get a lot less easy to like toward the bottom. I mean, I can see why he's not selling millions of copies - I'm just surprised that critics, whom I guess I think of as maybe being more inclined to "appreciate" some of those less easily likeable elements (not that they should, if they don't like the music, of course), are so "eh" about it.

I don't know why I'm so hung up on the critics thing - it just baffles me a little that many reviewers have been so negative about the recent Furnaces stuff (especially in comparision to the first few albums, which generally seem to be praised in comparison).

But, yeah, if you don't like the particular sound effects (for instance), then of course there you go. Are there other people or bands out there following maybe a somewhat related muse (as you've said - working on idiosyncratic recording projects/missions), but using sounds you like more? Like, you'd say - "If you think Friedberger's good, you should check out _____?" Because I'd be genuinely interested to do so...

I still haven't heard the solo record(s); I'm waiting until I like the songs from them I've got. This has not happened yet. I do sort of agree they need some sort of mediating outside influence, though I don't know if that should come in the form of an outside producer.

i can't think of anyone who isn't already hugely overdiscussed here that i prefer - c. finn, o.pallett, j.newsom, etc. the paper chase.

the critics thing: partly the need for "responsible criticism" (i.e. why-you-should-or-shouldn't-buy-this-record) mebbe is working against these records - in that really someone trying to get at them would have to come from a fan's perspective already, discuss them from that. i mean, these are records that are getting two paragraph reviews, and once you've summarised the thing you're three quarters there, there's a lot to explain.

and i think totally part of the thing here is the weird aesthetic sphere indie rock occupies, where the best work being done in some ways can't ever be the most progressive, or the most popular, although popular is a loaded question when you consider real people tastes with pitchfork tastes ... that there's a lack of places for meaningful work to be discussed in a meaningful way. that the most retrograde acts are going to be the most popular and most discussed, which makes a tedious vicious cycle of the whole thing.

(that i can't be bothered getting wound up about it because hey it's indie rock what you gonna do.)

x-post with eppy, who also brings up the status of "indie rock" here and all.

(aside: i actually really like the backwards stuff, although it's not my favorite gimmick of theirs. it's not that it's novel or anything, but it has a cool texture. and matt f. has noted that he was trying to be fake-scary rather than earnestly psychedelic.)

If you think of it real simply, like "I like this record by so-and-so and there are so many people who like it as well," then you think, "OK, I'm going to make a record inspired by that," but it's not going to sound the same, so you have to make a whole bunch of decisions in making your record, and each time you make a decision half the people who liked the original record won't agree with you, they'll want you to make the decision the other way. So you get a record at the end of it that 1 out of 16 people who liked that original record will like."

http://www.citypaper.com/music/story.asp?id=12126

"Mr Fried Burger, I Resume" has 27 Google results, 0 reviews and is also available as an app.

The guy's dived so far under the radar it feels like discovering a wonderful & completely unknown new artist, not the principal songwriter behind one of the most hyped indie bands of the previous decade.

Oh, and because he no longer gives one fuck what people think of him, he's taken to only releasing mad (certifiably insane) synth-rock operas. Coz, like, that's what he's always wanted to do (and has always done, except now they're even weirder)

It's one of the best albums of the year but I also fully expect to be the only person on ILX who thinks this

You can hear 3 tracks here: https://mfriedberger.bandcamp.com/releases but I bought the whole thing and found this to be an excellent choice.

And to think I only found this after being overtaken by a spontaneous pang of missing the Fieries and idly wondering what the old devil was up to...

I'd say this project alone pretty definitively killed any mainstream-indie interest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solos

Wow- never even heard about that "Solos" thing. I like those "Mr Fried Burger" tracks on Bandcamp. May have to pull the trigger and buy it.

i enjoyed parts of 'solos'

Saqqara Mastabas is the new band comprised of Matthew Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces and Bob D’Amico of Sebadoh. They’ll release their debut album Libras on June 3 via Joyful Noise Recordings.

Libras Track List:
1. Walking Through The False Door
2. Fixed By The Tiny Talons Of The Future Goddess
3. No Escape For The Serfs On The Surf
4. Uto On The Upswing
5. Parade Of The Prisoner Priests On Parade
6. Smoking On The Mountain, Embalming In The Valley
7. The Failure (Of The Fencing Of The Underground Apart From The Apartment’s Part)
8. Unknown Term For Butcher
9. The Cosmetician’s Knife

"Parade Of The Prisoner Priests On Parade" is very "Birmingham School of Business School"

omg yay

I did end up buying the Mr. Fried Burger album and found it pretty enjoyable, both the mini-operetta at the beginning, and the more rock-oriented tracks after.

yeah you and i are responsible for 1/3 of its rym ratings lol

preview track off the saqqara mastabas album is great btw :)

It's oooooouuuuttttttt

And it's only half an hour long! So I've just listened to it.

It's the oldest music in the world, you know. A charm of instrumentals from before anyone knew singing could exist