Deaf Description: The Fiery Furnaces – I’m Going Away

I’ve already let my nerd flag fly high when I trumpeted the announcement of the upcoming Fiery Furnaces record, but what I didn’t tell you at the time (because it wasn’t announced until the following week) was that the siblings Friedberger were asking their fans to submit “deaf descriptions” of the new album. That is, they want you to review the album without having listened to it first. They will then take the deaf descriptions and somehow turn them into a “‘complete’ fan-made, word-only, entirely-unrelated, alternate version of I’m Going Away,” which also be released the same day as the actual album, July 21. Best of all, they don’t even have to be in English!

You know me, I couldn’t resist. What I submitted is copied below — it’s a blend of divinely prophesized predictions and blind wish-fulfillment fantasies. You can submit your deaf descriptions to thefieryfurnacesemail [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Delirious doesn’t even begin to describe it. For a group already well known for their staggering gumption and spitfire hubris, the Fiery Furnaces have attempted on their latest studio album I’m Going Away to recreate the entirety of American popular music, from Dixie land brass bands to Lady Gaga, in an epic experiment just shy of 80 minutes. But this isn’t simply a linear retelling of the story, where Robert Johnson walks up to the crossroads and takes a left; instead, in the Friedbergers’ vision, all possible paths are explored at the same time. The result is a complete alternate history, in which salty sea shanties are sung in the dusty plains of Texas, carousel waltzes are regular staples in underground hardcore shows, and Burl and Charles Ives share not only a surname, but a bunk bed and a four-track.

The album starts with a sputtering drum machine and dueling barroom pianos. The title track, a traditional folk tune about disappointment and longing, serves as a departure point for the westward bound story arc of the album takes. In it, Eleanor sings of a man who stole all her money, which she didn’t find very funny, as her justification for going away. The album progresses on “Driving to Dallas,” where the railroad rhythm of the title track picks up steam until it’s moving at the speed of light-rail, nailed down with an industrious one-chord hammer-on rock’n’roll riff and whirring flashes of pedal steel and celeste. Spitting sibilance and Teutonic tongue-twisters, Eleanor begins to unveil some of the specific characters who crop up in this loosely themed album, which ultimately involves vivid tales of encounters with mischievous fur trappers, reluctant oil barons, theosophist lumberjacks, virgin soldiers, and depressive swim instructors.

One of the more memorable characters is Ray Bouvier, who first appears on the ballad “Ray Bouvier.” It’s an unusual story about an introverted carpenter whose arranged marriage is threatened by his increasing obsession with Willard Van Orman Quine’s theory of semantic holism. Perhaps not unintentionally, the song is complemented with a jarring guitar solo that echoes the work of Quine’s punk rock nephew, Robert.

Occasionally, the slapdash hybridization of styles the Furnaces experiment with turn out beautifully. Case in point: “The End is Near,” which is essentially an 8-bit blues jam with a wicked electric banjo breakdown. The modest incorporation of autotune during the second bridge assures this song’s success as the album’s lead single. At other times, the experiment is less successful. The ragtime/afro-funk fusion of “Charmaine Champagne,” for instance, is a series of syncopated snafus that is only salvaged from complete humiliation thanks to Jason Loewenstein’s dexterous handling of a vintage Theremin throughout the chorus.

There’s a lot to wrap your head around on this record. From the phantasmagoric “Lost at Sea,” which features two distinct mixes of polytonal power chords shredding simultaneously through each speaker channel, to the paisley pop of “Cups and Punches,” which features Matthew Friedberger rapping – yes, rapping – throughout the verses, I’m Going Away is easily the Fiery Furnaces’ most ambitious and least focused album to date. Perhaps we could have asked for a little less sousaphone and a little more wah-pedalled organ, but as far as summer albums are concerned, this one’s a blockbuster.

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Further Fiery Furnaces Fan Fiction:

I’m Going Away: New Fiery Furnaces album gets me all sorts of excited

A Close Encounter with the Fiery Furnaces, 10/29/07, Blueberry Hill, St. Louis

Matthew Friedberger – Winter Women (Summer Version)

Matthew Friedberger – Holy Ghost Language School