The Fiery Furnaces - 'Gallowsbird’s Bark' (Rough Trade) Released 27/10/2003

A brother and sister alt rock duo with there roots in the Blues!  So far, so the familiar zeitgeist, but pigeonhole Chicago’s ‘The Fiery Furnaces’ at your peril because ‘Gallowsbird’s Bark’ may just be the most innovative debut of the year. 

Ok, so you’ve got your gritty bar room blues of ‘I’m Gonna Run’ that zips along at a Stripes-esque pace, but delve deeper and you find an off kilter swirl of sounds that defies convention to emerge as a truly original beast.  Take ‘Leaky Tunnel’ with its primitive electro riff that transforms into a jaunty indie-pop sing along or the bizarre on the road tales of ‘Inca Ray/Name Game’ as prime examples of this eclecticism that never once becomes overbearing.  There’s no Mouldy Peaches ‘wackiness’ here thankfully, with the quirky lyrics and electronic squelches always adding to the song rather than drawing a veil over weaknesses.  If you have a genuine love of music, you’ll be able to get something out of ‘Gallowsbird’s Bark’ (the bluesy stomp of ‘Asthma Attack’, if released as a single, would surely bother the charts) so what are you waiting for, go buy!