Biography
The Fiery Furnaces emerged in the 2000s as a wildly inventive pair of siblings, Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, who injected unpredictability into indie rock. Their debut, Gallowsbird's Bark, surfaced in 2003 and blended straightforward, melodic hooks with intricate lyrical games and a broad palette of references that encompassed the Who, Captain Beefheart, Os Mutantes, folk, blues, and garage rock. The follow-up, Blueberry Boat, arrived the next year as an expansive, psych- and prog-inflected odyssey that split listeners into opposing camps. In 2005 they issued Rehearsing My Choir, cut in collaboration with their grandmother. Subsequent releases such as Widow City in 2007 and I'm Going Away in 2009 sustained their restless creativity, and the 2020 single “Down at the So and So on Somewhere/The Fortune Teller's Revenge” showed the same singular character that had marked their work two decades earlier.
Raised in a household attuned to music in Oak Park, Illinois, the Friedbergers absorbed contrasting influences early on. Their grandmother directed the choir at a Greek Orthodox church and performed as a musician, while their mother, fond of Gilbert & Sullivan, sang and accompanied herself on guitar and piano. Matthew played standup bass throughout his school years, absorbing Sly & the Family Stone and Captain Beefheart, and later appeared in the Grand Vizars, Liquorette, and the Mezzanines. Eleanor gravitated toward the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pavement, Royal Trux, and Guided by Voices; Matthew supported her entry into performance by purchasing a guitar and drum kit for her. Although the siblings had not been especially close during childhood, they reconnected in Oak Park after separate college experiences and time spent overseas. Following Eleanor’s graduation from the University of Texas in Austin and a year in England, they relocated to Brooklyn in 2000, took day jobs, and began performing together late that year. With Eleanor supplying most vocals and Matthew handling the majority of songwriting, they assembled a style that fused blues, folk, psych-rock, ’70s AM pop, dub, and additional strands into concise yet surprising arrangements. Early shows took place at Enid’s before expanding to bills alongside the French Kicks, Sleater-Kinney, and Spoon. They signed with Rough Trade in 2002 and tracked their first album with producer Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room studio in Brooklyn; Gallowsbird's Bark reached stores in September 2003 and earned praise for its resourceful, all-inclusive character.
Even before that record appeared, the band had begun work on its successor. Again working with Vernhes and adding violinist Samara Lubelski and drummer David Muller, the Friedbergers completed Blueberry Boat, whose July 2004 release incorporated prog-rock elements and icy synth textures. Drummer Andy Knowles and bassist Toshi Yano joined the touring lineup for dates supporting Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Franz Ferdinand, and the Shins. The simply titled EP, compiling B-sides and new material, followed in early 2005. While promoting Blueberry Boat, the group simultaneously developed its third and fourth albums. Rehearsing My Choir, recorded at Key Club studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan, came out in October 2005; fans soon dubbed it “the Grandmother Album” for its stream-of-consciousness format built around Olga Sarantos’s recollections of Chicago life. Sebadoh bassist Jason Lowenstein and drummer Bob D’Amico backed the subsequent tour and remained for Bitter Tea, a brighter set issued by Fat Possum in April 2006. That August Matthew released the solo double album Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School.
The band tracked its fifth album in early 2007 and joined Thrill Jockey that June. Produced by Matthew and mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire, Widow City surfaced in October and leaned on ’70s rock textures. Remember, a large-scale live set that stitched alternate performances of the same material into collage-style sequences, appeared in 2008. Late that year and into 2009 the Friedbergers recorded I’m Going Away, a leaner, more direct collection inspired by the warm sonorities of ’70s and ’80s television themes such as Taxi; the July 2009 release contained some of their most melodic writing since their debut. November’s Take Me Round Again presented each sibling’s solo reinterpretations of those songs. After performing at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival in May 2011, the Fiery Furnaces entered hiatus.
Both members stayed active. Matthew inaugurated his Solos series in January 2011 with six limited-edition vinyl albums, beginning with Napoleonette, recorded solely on piano; later installments explored guitar, harp, percussion, organ, and double bass. Eleanor issued her Merge debut, Last Summer, that July, favoring a playful yet direct approach. She continued as a solo artist with Personal Record in 2013, New View in 2016, and Rebound in 2018, solidifying her reputation as a literate, reflective songwriter. Matthew pursued equally ambitious projects, including the 2012 imaginary horror-film soundtrack Matricidal Sons of Bitches and 2016’s Libras, recorded with Bob D’Amico under the name Saqqara Mastabas.
Plans for live dates in early 2020 were abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the band managed to capture new material in February before entering quarantine. Two tracks, “Down at the So and So on Somewhere” and “The Fortune Teller's Revenge,” appeared as the group’s first 7-inch for Third Man Records in June 2020.
Raised in a household attuned to music in Oak Park, Illinois, the Friedbergers absorbed contrasting influences early on. Their grandmother directed the choir at a Greek Orthodox church and performed as a musician, while their mother, fond of Gilbert & Sullivan, sang and accompanied herself on guitar and piano. Matthew played standup bass throughout his school years, absorbing Sly & the Family Stone and Captain Beefheart, and later appeared in the Grand Vizars, Liquorette, and the Mezzanines. Eleanor gravitated toward the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pavement, Royal Trux, and Guided by Voices; Matthew supported her entry into performance by purchasing a guitar and drum kit for her. Although the siblings had not been especially close during childhood, they reconnected in Oak Park after separate college experiences and time spent overseas. Following Eleanor’s graduation from the University of Texas in Austin and a year in England, they relocated to Brooklyn in 2000, took day jobs, and began performing together late that year. With Eleanor supplying most vocals and Matthew handling the majority of songwriting, they assembled a style that fused blues, folk, psych-rock, ’70s AM pop, dub, and additional strands into concise yet surprising arrangements. Early shows took place at Enid’s before expanding to bills alongside the French Kicks, Sleater-Kinney, and Spoon. They signed with Rough Trade in 2002 and tracked their first album with producer Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room studio in Brooklyn; Gallowsbird's Bark reached stores in September 2003 and earned praise for its resourceful, all-inclusive character.
Even before that record appeared, the band had begun work on its successor. Again working with Vernhes and adding violinist Samara Lubelski and drummer David Muller, the Friedbergers completed Blueberry Boat, whose July 2004 release incorporated prog-rock elements and icy synth textures. Drummer Andy Knowles and bassist Toshi Yano joined the touring lineup for dates supporting Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Franz Ferdinand, and the Shins. The simply titled EP, compiling B-sides and new material, followed in early 2005. While promoting Blueberry Boat, the group simultaneously developed its third and fourth albums. Rehearsing My Choir, recorded at Key Club studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan, came out in October 2005; fans soon dubbed it “the Grandmother Album” for its stream-of-consciousness format built around Olga Sarantos’s recollections of Chicago life. Sebadoh bassist Jason Lowenstein and drummer Bob D’Amico backed the subsequent tour and remained for Bitter Tea, a brighter set issued by Fat Possum in April 2006. That August Matthew released the solo double album Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School.
The band tracked its fifth album in early 2007 and joined Thrill Jockey that June. Produced by Matthew and mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire, Widow City surfaced in October and leaned on ’70s rock textures. Remember, a large-scale live set that stitched alternate performances of the same material into collage-style sequences, appeared in 2008. Late that year and into 2009 the Friedbergers recorded I’m Going Away, a leaner, more direct collection inspired by the warm sonorities of ’70s and ’80s television themes such as Taxi; the July 2009 release contained some of their most melodic writing since their debut. November’s Take Me Round Again presented each sibling’s solo reinterpretations of those songs. After performing at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival in May 2011, the Fiery Furnaces entered hiatus.
Both members stayed active. Matthew inaugurated his Solos series in January 2011 with six limited-edition vinyl albums, beginning with Napoleonette, recorded solely on piano; later installments explored guitar, harp, percussion, organ, and double bass. Eleanor issued her Merge debut, Last Summer, that July, favoring a playful yet direct approach. She continued as a solo artist with Personal Record in 2013, New View in 2016, and Rebound in 2018, solidifying her reputation as a literate, reflective songwriter. Matthew pursued equally ambitious projects, including the 2012 imaginary horror-film soundtrack Matricidal Sons of Bitches and 2016’s Libras, recorded with Bob D’Amico under the name Saqqara Mastabas.
Plans for live dates in early 2020 were abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the band managed to capture new material in February before entering quarantine. Two tracks, “Down at the So and So on Somewhere” and “The Fortune Teller's Revenge,” appeared as the group’s first 7-inch for Third Man Records in June 2020.