Let’s Play Bocce And Horseshoes And Croquet

The Fiery Furnaces “Asthma Attack”

The Fiery Furnaces “Inca Rag / Name Game”

If I was the type of person who made year-end lists of records, The Fiery Furnaces’ Gallowsbird’s Bark would immediately zoom into my top ten, maybe even my top five. It was extremely hard figuring out which songs to post here – there are 16 songs on the album, and I’ve fallen in love with every single one of them. It’s so rare for a band to seemingly drop out of the sky fully formed like this, with an aesthetic which is very particular to themselves but also owing to some extremely top-drawer antecedents. Think White Album-era Beatles, Wowee Zowee Pavement, early Bob Dylan, Royal Trux at their best, Guided By Voices at their wackiest, and a little bit of early Liz Phair and The Slits for spice. Think great loose-sounding chops, excellent melodies, a distinctive singer, and a playful spirit that makes it all sound tossed-off. This is my favorite kind of rock and roll. The last time I fell in love with a band this quickly was when I discovered Clinic back in 1999. These people are special, I promise you.