Over a mere four years, The Fiery Furnaces have become the indie
rock equivalent of the boy who cried wolf. Between their White
Stripes-referencing debut “Gallowsbird’s Bark,”
the hyperactive rock theatrics of “Blueberry Boat,” and
“Rehearsing My Choir,” the only recent album to feature
someone’s grandmother, the Furnaces have aimed for genius and
fallen short. This time the Friedberger siblings aren’t
fooling around.
Like any Furnaces record, “Bitter Tea” is full of
weird sounds, often in the form of backward vocals. Where before
the band seemed silly for its own sake, here the idiosyncrasies
have purpose. As the album develops, the layers of effects peel
away; by the time “Waiting to Know You” and the
impossibly catchy “Benton Harbor Blues” roll around,
the Friedbergers’ devotion to ’60s pop and soul is on
full display. The Friedbergers’ penchant for difficult
weirdness accentuates the songs without overwhelming them, like the
initial bitterness of a bag of Sour Patch Kids before the
inevitable sweet reward. The truly great albums are those that
require some work on the listener’s part to bridge the gap
between effortless pop and cerebral avant-garde, and the Furnaces
have finally found the right balance.
While it’s easy to shove the Furnaces into the waste bin
of ambitious art-rockers whose reach exceeds their grasp, this
album provides substance behind the sonics. Make no mistake,
“Bitter Tea” is a truly great record, and easily the
most subversively brilliant pop album this year.