Eleanor Friedberger released her sophomore LP “Personal Record” , a follow to her critically acclaimed and much heralded debut “Last Summer” in 2010. This is a tremendously ambitious follow-up to a imaginative debut record but not one that could be bested. Eleanor is the second half of the sister/ brother duo Fiery Furnaces, an eclectic indie rock band that produced a number of critically acclaimed albums over the last decade (some of which are reveled as classics). Eleanor releases her second solo album to much critical anticipation and she delivers in a big way.
Friedberger is a witty and clever songwriter backed with an incredible accompaniment of guitar, keyboard and horns. This is instantly evident on the obvious stand out singles “She’s a Mirror” and “Stare At The Sun”. They are both sing-a-long modern day hits. However, the other songs provide mystery to her interesting journey like “I’m the Past” … an eerie song of a etherial spirit from the past looking at how one views a “friend”, all with a backdrop of incredible horns and flutes. “Echo and Encore” has a smooth classical arrangement ,acoustic guitar, smooth bass and her belting vocals “I adore you as before, I echo and I encore” accompanied with a passionate piano solo.
This fantastic collection of songs are creative, fun, witty, professional and varied. This is interesting for a modern pop record as there is usually a feeling of constraint for a good pop song. Eleanor’s lyrics are well crafted and the sing a long quality is much like reading a good book that was well thought out. This straight forward style without being over emotional is a way to communicate to the listener in balanced manner, while keeping the music is edgy, eclectic and the lyrics clever / a bit mysterious. Similar to her debut album, the music is familiar and powerful. As with her other endeavors, Eleanor has been very consistent with each of her solo efforts. This second album brings a refined instrumentation, verve, evolved sound. The hooks on this new record definitely are more prominent!
Download this fine record from Eleanor Friedberger and you will not be disappointed. Buy it here
Artist: Eleanor Friedberger
Album: Personal Record
Record Label: Merge Records
Record Release: June 4, 2013
Track Listings: 1)I Don’t Want To Bother You 2)When I Knew 3)I’ll Never Be Happy Again 4)Stare At The Sun 5) Echo 0r Encore 6)My Own World 7)Tomorrow Tomorrow 8)You’ll Never Know Me 9)I Am The Past 10)She’s a Mirror 11)Other Boys 12)Singing Time
