Biography
Eleanor Friedberger first gained notice as one half of the kaleidoscopic brother-sister outfit the Fiery Furnaces throughout the 2000s. Once that group paused activities in 2011, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist stepped forward as a solo artist whose wry yet perceptive songwriting stood on its own. Her subsequent records proved nearly as wide-ranging as the Furnaces' output, moving from the classic-rock and folk-inflected glow of Last Summer in 2011 and New View in 2016 to the goth-pop tributes that shaped Rebound in 2018.
She spent her early years in a household attuned to music in Oak Park, Illinois. Her grandmother served as musician and choir director at a Greek Orthodox church; her mother performed on piano and guitar and sang regularly; and her brother Matthew played standup bass throughout his school years. At the same time, Friedberger's listening ranged across classic rock acts such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin alongside '90s indie figures including Pavement, Royal Trux, and Guided by Voices. After earning her degree from the University of Texas in Austin and spending a year in England, she and Matthew formed the Fiery Furnaces, who issued eight albums—including the 2004 breakthrough Blueberry Boat—in an eight-year span.
When the Fiery Furnaces entered hiatus in 2011, Friedberger issued her Merge Records debut, Last Summer, whose playful and comparatively direct approach contrasted with her band's earlier material. For Personal Record in 2013 she assembled songs that nodded to the inward-looking pop of the 1970s. Late in 2015 she surfaced with the single "False Alphabet City," a piece tied to visual artist Sara Magenheimer's film False Alphabets and her first release for Frenchkiss Records. Her third album, New View, was tracked with backing band Icewater after she relocated to upstate New York and appeared in January 2016. Following a year of touring, Friedberger traveled to Greece to connect with family roots and the local music community. Time spent in a late-night Greek goth club, together with the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, shaped the literate electronic pop of Rebound in 2018.
She spent her early years in a household attuned to music in Oak Park, Illinois. Her grandmother served as musician and choir director at a Greek Orthodox church; her mother performed on piano and guitar and sang regularly; and her brother Matthew played standup bass throughout his school years. At the same time, Friedberger's listening ranged across classic rock acts such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin alongside '90s indie figures including Pavement, Royal Trux, and Guided by Voices. After earning her degree from the University of Texas in Austin and spending a year in England, she and Matthew formed the Fiery Furnaces, who issued eight albums—including the 2004 breakthrough Blueberry Boat—in an eight-year span.
When the Fiery Furnaces entered hiatus in 2011, Friedberger issued her Merge Records debut, Last Summer, whose playful and comparatively direct approach contrasted with her band's earlier material. For Personal Record in 2013 she assembled songs that nodded to the inward-looking pop of the 1970s. Late in 2015 she surfaced with the single "False Alphabet City," a piece tied to visual artist Sara Magenheimer's film False Alphabets and her first release for Frenchkiss Records. Her third album, New View, was tracked with backing band Icewater after she relocated to upstate New York and appeared in January 2016. Following a year of touring, Friedberger traveled to Greece to connect with family roots and the local music community. Time spent in a late-night Greek goth club, together with the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, shaped the literate electronic pop of Rebound in 2018.