Sunday - Skipped It 'Til Now: The Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat

CD shopping is one of my favorite things to do. Even in this age of downloading and ordering on the Web, I still love to actually go out and look for CDs. There’s an indescribable joy that I get from rifling through stacks of cases and happening upon discs that I didn’t expect to find. A lot of times, I’ll come across something that I wasn’t looking for and isn’t too high of a priority to me, but I’ll buy it anyway. Whenever this happens, it’s a toss-up whether or not I listen to it when I get home or much later on. This feature is all about albums that I’m just now getting around to listening to for one reason or another.

I picked up The Fiery Furnaces’ album, Blueberry Boat, from a clearance rack a few months back. I know I’m pretty late to the game, and I know this album is considered a real gem. I had every intention of buying it back when it came out in 2004, but always hesitated because I was unsure as to how I’d feel about the album considering that I wasn’t overly impressed by what I had previously heard from them. Well, after listening to the 76+ minute epic, I’ll say that I made a pretty good purchase, but my worries were not completely unwarranted.

Blueberry Boat is a rather ambitious record, with all kinds of things packed into every song. Brother-sister duo Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger have made sure that the listener won’t get bored, as they never let a whole song sound the same for very long. The 10-minute opener, “Quay Cur,” begins with a spare electronic beat with a snare that sounds like stretched-out sample of a chirping bird. Add some piano and organ as well as Eleanor’s child-like vocals, and the stage is set for a nice experimental pop song. After about 3 minutes, the song completely changes to Matthew and his acoustic guitar work that lasts for a while before changing into something completely different. Most of the songs on the album follow this kind of pattern, which reminds me of a stage play with several scene and costume changes. It’s very fitting, as all of Blueberry Boat’s songs are of the long and theatrical sort and wouldn’t be out of place in a musical.

With the theater connection being made, I’ll have to say that Blueberry Boat is a bit of an exhausting listen that I’d have to be in the mood for to completely enjoy. The album starts out pretty strong with the electro-weirdness of “Quay Cur,” the kinda-sorta ragtime jam, “Straight Street” (my favorite track), and the cool pirate battle story of “Blueberry Boat.” After those songs, though, all of which I could probably listen to anytime, I find myself getting a bit tired. Don’t get me wrong, every song on the album is good, but there’s so much to process (never mind the instrumental changes, what about the verbose lyrics?), that I feel that a nap is in order before continuing the listen.

Blueberry Boat is a very well-done album that I am glad that I finally picked up and listened to. For fans of theatrical, operatic pop, it really is a gem. The wordy storytelling and near-constant song change-ups make it an interesting record throughout. Just make sure you’re well-rested and ready to pay attention.

- Jake