Every time The Fiery Furnaces release a new album, I get excited about music again. The Brooklyn-based brother-sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger are set to release "Widow City" (Thrill Jockey) on Oct. 9, and to my ears it sounds like an attempt to widen the fanbase with highly accessible and surprisingly hard-rocking tunes. (None of that backwards-tape stuff here.)
Expect to hear some new Furnaces material during their free concert at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, this Sunday, Aug. 26.
Meantime, Thrill Jockey just gave me permission to post a stream of "Ex-Guru," so there it is.