Bitter Tea

the fiery furnaces return, for the most part, to their epic, unconventional, and catchy methodology on the new album 'bitter tea'. as with much of the fiery furnaces output since 'blueberry boat', songs rub the wrong way on first listen, but slowly, after repeated listens, train your hair to follow the new direction it's being combed. even grandma makes an appearance, a backwards tracked vocal, in the song, 'oh, sweet woods' which is the story of her life in a series of inventive vignettes. 'bitter tea' is traditional fiery furnaces with a broad spectrum of influences, epic sonic excursions, wandering narratives and eleanor's striking vocals. cd only on rough trade.