THE FIERY FURNACES
I'm Going Away (Thrill Jockey)
Back in 2003, the brother-and-sister duo released Gallowsbird's Bark,
a crunchy blast of melodic garage rock (in keeping with the spirit of
the time). They followed it up the next year with Blueberry Boat, an
epic set of song suites and abrasive detours into noise that made the
cute stuff more palatable. Both were great. Since then, the Brooklyn
siblings' see-what-sticks approach hasn't always worked, most famously a
collection recorded with their grandmother (which state law requires we
mention in all reviews). But an eager listener could patch together a
decent album from their last two -- 2006's Bitter Tea and 2007's Widow
City. I'm Going Away continues those records' formula -- a narrative-free
collection of tunes, some memorable and some less so. The best is
"Charmaine Champagne," a jazzy number complete with noisy horn solos and
a say-what? chorus about being "folked up." Elsewhere, "Drive to Dallas"
goes from ballad to guitar freak-out in under five minutes; less
enjoyably, "Even in the Rain" takes a charming melody and drills it into
the ground. It's less novelistic than those audacious early works, but
there's nothing wrong with releasing a set of solid short stories, is
there?
Paul L. Underwood
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