album #5

gallowsbird's bark (the fiery furnaces)

This is probably my favorite Fiery Furnaces album. Searing, blues-rock guitars, rangy acoustics, ice cold lyrics- there's something icy about them, not even meaning distant or off-putting, but "ice cold" the way Outkast sang- coolness from a place of dry originality. There's a psychadelic edge to it, a rambling, playful, vibrant spirit. This band eventually moved to a highly synthetic, surreal place, really got farther and farther away from music that can happen live onstage, with each record. And I have really enjoyed their stranger creations, but something about the raw, driven, melodic adventure of this record keeps my affection. They're short songs, tightly paced, catchy and fun.

There are too many favorites to cover them all- it's a terrific album all the way through. Some songs I've always really dug- "Don't Dance Her Down," a great drive to this one, like an iron man stumbling down the stairs, repeatedly. "Crystal Clear" is a nervy, intense number, that throbs and bursts into a fantastic guitar swirl in the chorus; "Two Fat Feet" has a raw, numb, chill vibe, and a delightful dance of piano; "Worry Worry" hits with a '60s intensity; "Bright Blue Tie" is a melodic, relatively subtle beauty; and "Tropical Ice-Land" says it all in the title.

I listened to this a lot, summer '07, evenings of Texas driving. Really brings to mind the parking lot of the cool coffee house in Austin, parking and departing. It's a good record, it's kept with me.