| Widow City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 8, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | January – February 2007 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 59:05 | |||
| Label | Thrill Jockey | |||
| Producer | Matthew Friedberger | |||
| The Fiery Furnaces chronology | ||||
| ||||
Widow City is the sixth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces. It was released in the UK on October 8, 2007, and in the US on October 9 on Chicago-based label Thrill Jockey. The album art features Eleanor Friedberger on the front and Matthew Friedberger on the back.
The album heavily references occultism, Egyptian thematic elements and mysticism. The album is a reference to the holy city of Vrindavan in northern India. An estimated 3,000 women have made their homes there begging and praying at the temples. Widows flock to Vridavan and neighboring Mathura because Hindus believe that people who die there are freed from the cycle of birth and death and can obtain moksha (emancipation). Dressed mostly in white, the color of widowhood, the women spend most of their day in prayer earning five rupees a day and a handful of rice or begging on the street. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B [3] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.4/10) [4] |
| PopMatters | (4/10) [5] |
| Stylus Magazine | A [6] |
| This Is Fake DIY | [7] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [8] |
A portion of the press release:
As on past Fiery Furnaces' albums, the backing tracks have a narrative aspect, excuse the expression. For instance, the long 'bassoon' and altered tabla part in "The Philadelphia Grand Jury" might indicate the singer in the song's waiting for the word (verdict). The loud guitar-drums-and-Chamberlin 'thunderstorm' part towards the end of "Ex-Guru" indicates the thunderstorm brought about by the jilted ex-guru. The synthesizer filtering of the acoustic guitar in "Duplexes of the Dead" indicates the odd light that filters through the dirty curtains a duplex of the dead would no doubt have. The swelling melody at the end of "My Egyptian Grammar" indicates the pride that likely swells up in the breast of a blue jay referred to therein. The monkey and cow noises in "The Old Hag is Sleeping" indicate the rooster at dawn. The guitar solo at the end of "Cabaret of the Seven Devils" counts to seven. The train sound effect in "Japanese Slippers" indicates a train. And so forth.
David Byrne recorded a cover version of the song "Ex-Guru" for a Thrill Jockey compilation.
The Fiery Furnaces are an American indie rock band, formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The siblings are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago. They are known for their ambitious, highly conceptual releases, which have frequently divided critical opinion.
Kila Kila Kila is the fourth studio album from the Japanese rock band OOIOO, originally released in 2003 in Japan. It was later released in America on February 17, 2004, the band's first album released on Thrill Jockey.
Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago.
Gallowsbird's Bark is the debut studio album by The Fiery Furnaces released by Rough Trade Records in 2003.
Blueberry Boat is the second album by American indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces. It was released on July 13, 2004, just over ten months following their debut album, Gallowsbird's Bark. Blueberry Boat polarized music critics due to its long, complex songs and esoteric lyrics.
Eleanor Friedberger is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as one half of the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces, alongside her older brother Matthew Friedberger. In the band she contributes the majority of the vocals both on record and during their live performances.
Rehearsing My Choir is the fourth full-length album by The Fiery Furnaces and was released in 2005. It is a concept album featuring Olga Sarantos, grandmother of the band's Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, narrating stories relating to her life. Though the instrumentation is as complex as on the band's previous releases, the vocals mostly take the form of spoken word. At points Eleanor Friedberger speaks or sings words corresponding to the character of a younger Olga Sarantos, the two engaging in dialogue. This aspect has made many draw relations between the album and a radio play. Olga Sarantos died on December 31, 2007.
Matthew Friedberger is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work in the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces with his sister Eleanor Friedberger.
The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The Negatones is a Brooklyn, New York based band, founded by siblings Jay Braun and Justin Braun with Jun Takeshta and Jesse Wallace.
Winter Women and Holy Ghost Language School are two albums by Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces recorded, unlike The Fiery Furnaces records, without his sister Eleanor Friedberger. Though two separate albums, they were released together as a double album by 859 Recordings in August 2006. It was rereleased in October 2009 on Thrill Jockey Records.
Everybody is the seventh studio album by The Sea and Cake, released on Thrill Jockey.
Remember is the first live album from indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces, released on August 19, 2008. The album includes various live performances of songs from their first six studio albums, recorded between 2005 and the tour for their 2007 album, Widow City. Some longer songs, such as "Blueberry Boat" and "Quay Cur", have multiple cuts in the track from various performances. Other songs, such as the tracks from the Bitter Tea medley, were recorded live in the recording studio.
Jeff Parker is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles. Born in Connecticut and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups. Parker studied at Berklee College of Music and then moved to Chicago in 1991.
I'm Going Away is The Fiery Furnaces' eighth album. It was released, on CD and LP, on July 21, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in the UK.
Take Me Round Again is The Fiery Furnaces' ninth album. It was first released, in MP3 format, through Thrill Jockey Records, in November 2009. The album is being described as "The Friedbergers cover the Friedbergers," in reference to core members and siblings, Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger.
Turnstyles & Junkpiles is Pullman's debut album. Released on August 11, 1998, by Thrill Jockey, Turnstyles & Junkpiles was recorded live to analog 2-track with two AKG 451-EB microphone in the Cool Blue Cave by Bundy K. Brown in November 1997, with two exceptions: "Two Parts Water" and "Beacon & Kent", which were recorded at home by Curtis Harvey and Chris Brokaw, respectively. The album was edited at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, and mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Digital & Analog Mastering, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Solos is a vinyl-only boxset of six albums by Chicago-based musician Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces. On each of the six records, Matthew only plays one instrument, hence the name Solos. The boxset was released by Thrill Jockey records as a subscription series in 2011, with two bonus albums for subscribers, although small quantities of each album were released individually.
New View is the third studio album by American indie rock musician Eleanor Friedberger, released on January 22, 2016 on Frenchkiss Records. It was Friedberger’s first release on the label, and was also regarded as a departure for her, with a more minimalistic and folk-influenced sound.
Rebound is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Eleanor Friedberger. It was released on May 4, 2018, by Frenchkiss Records. Friedberger had been inspired to write the album following a 2017 trip to Athens, Greece, where she visited a nightclub called Rebound. The album marked a stylistic departure for Friedberger, with synthesizers and drum machines replacing the live bands on her previous albums. Two singles — lead single "In Between Stars" and "Everything" — were released prior to the album, in addition to one promotional song, "Make Me a Song".
