The Fiery Furnaces

Every artist has a signature stamp that finds its way into most, if not all, of their work. Part of the duty of an artist is to recognise when that indulgence becomes repetitious narcissism. After Bitter Tea pushed the boundaries of psychedelic rock with such zeal, Window City sounds oddly like a band running in place. Principle writer and instrumentalist Matthew Friedberger spends far too much time dwelling in progressions and key changes recycled from past albums. At times, this self-plagiarising threatens to cripple otherwise schizophrenically creative songs that are among the Furnaces’ most concise to date. The modest steps the Friedbergers take away from Blueberry Boat’s blueprint are easily the most engaging. A bit of hardcore invested in "Clear Message from Cairo,” a Flaming Lips drum reference on "My Egyptian Grammar” and the fuzzed out ’70s funk rock of "Navy Nurse” are album highlights, demonstrating new avenues of development open to the Furnaces. If only they’d remember that it’s not worth sacrificing consistent quality in favour of a prolific output.