The Fiery Furnances – I’m Going Away
The Fiery Furnaces will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary as a band next year, and if their latest release, “I’m Going Away” is any indication, they have a lot to celebrate. I first discovered this Brooklyn based band, originally formed by brother and sister duo Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, in 2006 when they opened for Metric at Salad Days: Dog Day Afternoon, along with Secret Machines, Electric Six, Holy F*ck, Wintersleep, and Land of Talk. After a day of indie rock goodness, I was quite impressed with The Fiery Furnaces. After all, any band that manages to be memorable even after a performance by Metric is bound to see future success.
With Matthew writing the music and Eleanor writing the lyrics for the majority of “I’m Going Away”, it is not difficult to see why this sibling duo has managed to survive – rather, flourish – for almost a decade together. That itself is no easy deed. While “I’m Going Away” is easily the band’s most accessible and easy to listen to album, it is not automatically their most enjoyable. It is certainly a decent listen, but is it memorable? No. Would it survive opening for a hot-shot band like Metric again? Unfortunately not. However, let’s lift our glasses and toast The Fiery Furnaces for a great effort and an impressive ten years in the game.
