Dual Factors

Matthew Friedberger “The Sainte-Barbe Triangle”

Even as a long term Fiery Furnaces nerd, I was a bit apprehensive about Matthew Friedberger’s series of solo albums. I consider his combo-pack solo debut Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School to be a low point in the extended Furnaces discography — there’s some good songs in there, but it’s just too much, and the best stuff is still somehow a bit timid for a guy who typically just goes all out. The first two records in this series are another story. To some extent, Napoleonette is roughly what you might expect from a piano-centric Friedberger record, but his experimentation with prepared piano gives the set a fascinating tonality and surprising physicality. Meet Me in Miramas is more of a curveball — hypnotic grooves, insistent rhythms, guitar used more for clanging texture than riffs or melody. “The Sainte-Barbe Triangle” opens that album, and it was immediately startling and engrossing. Through Matthew’s voice still has the cadence particular to himself and his sister Eleanor, everything else about the track comes closer to krautrock than what you’d expect from the Fiery Furnaces. I have no idea what is coming next in the series, but I’m excited to find out. Even after nearly a decade of music, this guy is still finding ways to surprise and challenge me.

Buy it from Thrill Jockey Records.