Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer

Eleanor Friedberger - Debut solo album from the Fiery Furnaces frontwoman is very much a "New York" album, a smart, brash, confident statement that doesn't so much revel in the past as it does use it for something new and fresh...while there are plenty of upbeat, almost sunny moments to add warmth and bright energy, there's also an impetuous "just can't sit still" quality that give the project a freewheeling, unpredictable edge // Release: Last Summer (July 12, Merge) // Sounds like: Friedberger's lyrics practically tumble out of the melodies, dense verbiage served atop a melange of diverse moods and styles...rarely does an album combine such a masterful polish with a production that has an appealing "first take" feel...// Quote: "I can’t wait to record another album, not necessarily to fix what wasn’t right on the first try but to jump off from there. I thought of Last Summer as an experiment or a test, just to see if I could do it. As corny as it sounds, I know my best is yet to come." // What we like: some albums feel like they've been dragged, kicking and screaming, through a long arduous process -- some, like Last Summer, just have that natural, unforced ease, like things just came together in some wonderfully special way...there's an indefinable magnetic force that simply pulls you in on songs like "Heaven" -- all 70's piano pomp nostalgia -- and "I Won't Fall Apart On You Tonight", a song that manages to evoke both tambourine-shaking girl groups and a feisty Chrissie Hynde pout simultaneously. Brilliant...

Eleanor Friedberger - "Heaven" (from Last Summer)

Eleanor Friedberger - "My Mistakes" (from Last Summer)