Blueberry Boat

Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces return this autumn with a limited vinyl edition of their classic 2004 album, Blueberry Boat. Long recognized as one of the early-2000s' most challenging and imaginative statements, Blueberry Boat pushed the boundaries of song form and narrative in indie rock. The reissue — limited to just 500 hand-numbered copies — is housed in a gatefold tip-on jacket with new artwork and printed innersleeves. It also restores an unheard piece of the Blueberry Boat era: "Far Away".

Recording began in the summer of 2003, just before the release of their debut Gallowsbird's Bark, working at the same Greenpoint, Brooklyn studio with engineers Nicolas Vernhes and Samara Lubelski. "Far Away" was intended to be the lead single from Blueberry Boat. Drummer Jay Dee Daugherty (Patti Smith Group) was brought in by touring band member Toshi Yano, having met at their local video store. "I'd never seen Jay Dee play, so before he arrived Samara put on a VHS tape in the back of the studio of Patti Smith live," said Eleanor. For this section of the song, changed that day from 6/8 time to 4/4, Matthew remembers a few minutes of rehearsal and one take. Piano, vocal, and drums were live; bass and two synthesizers overdubbed some days later.

The track's intro is a different story. Written by Matthew at Eleanor's request, it was an attempt at a rock song recitative, an extended bit of scene setting or score settling, intended for a specific show in November 2003 at the Mercury Lounge in New York. "Far Away" in this form was performed live only once.

"I liked the idea of writing a special song for each show, but that was the only time we ever did it," said Matthew. "In the end we decided to not put it on the album. I'd thought it would fit because it didn't. It turned out it just didn't. I told myself that the songs on Blueberry Boat are about working and not working, as opposed to loving and not loving." The song would later be reworked as "Waiting to Know You," a centerpiece of 2006's Bitter Tea.

Its inclusion here offers an alternate history and a raw example of the band's collaborative process. "I asked Matt to write something for me to sing, something I wasn't sure how to say— or if I wanted to say it all. It was the whole point of the band for me, and how we started," says Eleanor. "I told Matt stories and we turned them into songs. He could help me articulate things in a way I wouldn't on my own and I could help him get his music across."

Blueberry Boat remains one of the most ambitious records of its era — a sprawling suite of songs that defies conventional song structures, threading narratives through restless, shifting arrangements. The original vinyl editions of Blueberry Boat, which are long out of print, were pressed after The Fiery Furnaces' departure from Rough Trade, when Beggars Group acquired the label's catalog. With rights now returned to the band, this reissue reflects their definitive vision, and invites listeners to experience these moments of radical experimentation anew.

Credits:
The Fiery Furnaces are Eleanor Friedberger and Matthew Friedberger.
Blueberry Boat was recorded in July/Aug and Nov/Dec 2003, at Rare Book Room, on Dobbin St. between Norman and Nassau, in Brooklyn, NY.
The people who worked on the record were: Nicolas Vernhes, recording, mixing, drum kit. Samara Lubelski, recording, mixing, violin. Eleanor Friedberger, vocals, drum kit, etc. Matthew Friedberger, the rest.
David Muller played a drum kit on parts of "Chris Michaels" and "Mason City."
Jay Dee Daugherty played a drum kit on "Far Away."

All songs Friedberger & Friedberger (ASCAP).
Cover photos by Jeremy Murch.
Gatefold photos by Keith Wood.
Layout by Alina Abramova.
Original (2004 release) artwork by Emily Scholnick.
Mastered by Carl Saff.
"Far Away" mastered by Jonathan Schenke.
Original (2004 release) mastering by Joe Lambert.
Dedicated to Mark Friedberger. The lyrics to "Mason City" are adapted from his Farm Families & Change in 20th Century America.