Track Listing

1. In My Little Thatched Hut
2. I'm In No Mood
3. Darling Black Hearted Boy
4. Bitter Tea
5. Teach Me Sweetheart
6. Waiting To Know You
7. Vietnamese Telephone Ministry
8. Oh Sweet Woods
9. Borneo
10. Police Sweater Blood Vow
11. Nevers
12. Benton Harbour Blues
13. Whistle Rhapsody
14. Nevers
15. Hidden Track

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41956 in Music
• Released on: 2006-04-10
• Number of discs: 1

From the Label
A new Fiery Furnaces album is a wonderful thing. The Fiery Furnaces, a brother-sister duo hailing from Chicago and now ensconced in New York City, are true chameleons. Gorgeous melodies give way to Matthew Friedberger’s solemn piano solos or creepy synthesizers only to reappear later at the most perfect moment. Their signature is their broad spectrum of influences, epic sonic excursions, wandering narratives and Eleanor Friedberger’s striking vocals.

From their very first release in 2003, the much lauded Gallowsbird’s Bark - hailed by critics as "An oddball masterpiece" (Mojo) and "A joy from start to finish"( Q magazine) - to the curious and thrilling ode to their grandmother, last year’s Rehearsing My Choir, the band have made a significant impact with lovers of truly adventurous music . Their beautifully skewed vision, lovingly crafted albums and stunningly energetic live shows have found them a rapidly growing fan base and a place in the hearts of everyone who can appreciate punk rock attitude coupled with synth pop sparkle and a refreshing amount of creative vigour.

Bitter Tea was recorded at the same time as Rehearsing My Choir, the album made with their 82 year old grandmother sharing vocal duties with granddaughter Eleanor and one which tracked the story of her life in a series of inventive vignettes. That album, with all of its frenetic twists and turns, managed to bring the Furnaces to an even wider mainstream audience. Bitter Tea, however, has an even wider appeal. Or, as Matt has put it: "Bitter Tea is a very girly record. The granddaughter record, as opposed to the grandmother record." The Friedbergers describe this album as "Sissy Psychedelic Satanism". It’s also a return to a fuller, more band-oriented sound. There are real drums and some bone fide killer pop songs, such as "Police Sweater Blood Vow", "Waiting To Know You" and "Benton Harbour Blues". The album’s melodies further a Furnaces aesthetic of push and pull in a more concise manner than ever before and, again, there’s a story lurking in the grooves. These songs ask that you listen in a little closer than before. Eleanor's voice, a rare presence on the last record, is centre stage here; a matter-of-fact sound that expresses some of the most realised elements of sadness ever heard on a Fiery Furnaces album.

Matt Friedberger says he believes his little sister to be "The finest lady vocalist in Rock-n-Roll for the past twenty-five years". She may well be. What Matt forgot to mention was that "I’m In No Mood" is definitely one of the finest Furnaces songs to date. Or that "Teach Me, Sweetheart" is a heartbreaking piece of lovelorn beauty, an instant classic.

Bitter Tea was recorded in Benton Harbour Michigan in 2005 and was written & produced by Matt Friedberger. Matthew played all instrumentation apart from drums. Eleanor sang and played some drums. Additional drum work comes courtesy of Andy Knowles

Customer Reviews

A Glorious Cacophony
Bitter Tea is The Fiery Furnaces' fifth album in three years and represents another harmonious cacophony of sounds, beats, rhythms, with Eleanor being given much more freedom on vocals, to make this the siblings' best album to date.

Thematically, the album is dominated by a teenage girl's relationship with a boy who never makes an appearance on the album. She is either pining for him, despairing for his loss, indulging in escapism, or picturing an unhappy future without him.

Wrapping each song is the siblings' unique brand of pop music - pianos, xylophones, sudden changes of tempo and instruments, music and vocals played in reverse (listen out on "Black-Hearted Boy" for the ethereal, Celtic sound produced when Eleanor's vocals are reversed) ... There is almost something cartoon-like about the music, with all of its swirls and twirls, its giddy excitement, and its manic headlong rush to nowhere in particular. This is captured too in the vocals, with both Matthew and Eleanor combining to announce on "Bitter Tea" that "I am a crazy crane / I lost my true love in the rain".

The album opens with "In My Little Thatched Hut", with the girl casually watching life go by, as she waits for her lover to turn up. While Eleanor's lyrics never change, their self-assuredness diminishes as the music steadily picks up tempo and there is still no sign of lover-boy rowing up to where she waits for him. It is followed by "I'm In No Mood", with its twin assault of piano and xylophone and a very lethargic and sullen girl, who had fallen into bed drunk the night before.

The album's most curiously entitled song is "The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry", which ends with Eleanor singing out a telephone number (which apparently belongs to a bewildered Spanish-speaking lady in reality... not that I checked!). It also shows the girl's anxiety as she deals with what she perceives as this rejection:

I thought myself an unworthy thing
Despairing of my case all the time, boys
I thought myself an unworthy thing
Despairing of my case all the time, boys
Damn it all, damn it all to hell
Damn it all, damn it all.


"Borneo" is a crazed tale of a life filled with petty theft, card sharks, generous benefactors, and white collar crime. It is improbable and cartoon-like escapism, emphasized by the rapid tempo laid down and the sing-song vocals of Eleanor.

"Benton Blues Harbour" is about the girl presumably imagining growing old and alone, not even bothering to change her clothes from day to day. The following lines capture this despair:

As I try to fill all of my empty days
I stumble round on through my memory's maze:
Of all my past, only the sadness stays

Other songs worth listening to include "Teach Me Sweetheart", which is a tender song about in-laws demanding blood be spilled, "Oh Sweet Woods", an acid-trip of a song where Mormons kidnap what proves to be the wrong Eleanor Friedberger in order to get their hands on an antique pocket watch, "Police Sweater Blood Vow", with its mobile phone-style chorus, and the poignant "Nevers".

If the album has a major flaw, its that seventy-four minutes is for the truly dedicated listener, as there is simply too much to absorb in one sitting. However, this remains experimental, unpredictable, and gloriously-sounding pop music. Captain Beefheart was never quite like this. Listen & enjoy!

Music-hall madness
The Fiery Furnaces got a lot of flack for their last album, a concept album about their grandmother's life. So fans will be glad that in "Bitter Tea," the eccentric musical siblings go back to what they do best: Music-hall madness.

This album has a less organic feel than their previous work, suggesting that Matt and Eleanor Friedberger are seeing what they are capable of. But their music hasn't changed too much: bizarre dance melodies, oddball songs and psychedelic slashing all make this an intoxicatingly weird experience.

It starts off with one of their best songs: the "Little Thatched Hut," with its sinuous dance beat, joined in by piano and acoustic guitar. But it doesn't stay static -- I don't think the siblings could stay musically still that long. The song explodes suddenly into bursts of electronic swoosh, tribal beats, and what sounds like a keyboard being strangled.

This sound continues over several other, full of electronic fuzzling between energetic piano and mellow acoustic guitar. And they also harken back to the Furnaces' previous albums, with "Benton Harbor Blues" sounding like a charming B-Side from their second album, and "Teach Me Sweetheart" is a charmingly muddled (and kind of gruesome) love ballad. Lots of bloodthirsty relatives!

But the Fiery Furnaces try out some new sounds as well, as several songs are more electronic-based than their prior work. The title track is a real rock song, and it's pretty dense and psychedelic. Elaborate swooshes, explosions of synth and wacky little samples are all laid over a dancey melody that is as infectious as it is bizarre. Though it's less organic, it's recognizably a Furnaces song.

Even after five albums, the Fiery Furnaces still don't get the recognition they deserve. Not only are they prolific and talented, but they also evolve and experiment more than any other band I know of. Piano-rock? Check! Seaside rock opera? Check! Random singles better than anything on the radio? Check! Grandma-centric concept album? Check!

But no matter what they do, their music always sounds like an old quaint music-hall being invaded by a crazed circus. Don't worry, the piano and guitar are still here, along with weird unidentifiable noises and vocal beatboxing. But there's a heavier amount of keyboard and electronic elements, which don't add much to the music, but do make it sound even odder.

And the siblings also produce the weirdest lyrics imaginable. Only these two could devote a song to defiantly leaving your hair uncombed. But Eleanor gamely explores loneliness, hope for love, and word games ("Knew Nevers? Nothing never I'll ever learnt!"). May they never get more commercial, and leave behind their songs about bitter tea, banyan trees, and crazy cranes in love.

The Fiery Furnaces add some keyboard bubbles to their glorious oddball pop, and "Bitter Tea" ends up being bittersweet. Thankfully, they are back on top of their game.

Furnaces lose their fire
I bought this cd on the strength of their debut Gallowsbird's Bark which, despite some weak moments, was an enjoyable enough listen. Unfortunately this one is awful. So far I've tried 3 times to play this right through and on each occassion I've failed to reach the end - two thirds of the way through I have to stop it to end the torture. The songwriting is weak and somehow they've got it into their heads that tapes played backwards is a new innovation as, annoyingly, it's used on almost every track. It's a shame as their debut showed a lot of promise. Those interested should try their debut and avoid this - my copy is going to a charity shop asap.