The Fiery Furnaces

Fiery Furnaces’ eigth studio album, “I’m Going Away,” is, appropriately enough, a departure. For some bands, that might suggest an unprecedented foray into weirdness, but for the Furnaces, that means abandoning experimental tendencies for unexpected accessibility.

The album opens at high energy, but the frenetic driving beat of the title track soon relaxes into a calm, agreeable record. An early highlight, “The End Is Near,” features a bluesy piano riff refreshing for its childlike simplicity. The guitar breakdown in follow-up track “Drive to Dallas” is one any shredder could be proud of, and its improbable fluctuations in energy showcase lead vocalist Eleanor Friedberger’s distinctive voice.

At the Furnaces’ best, their songs sound like an exploration of the most basic building blocks of pop songs. It’s reverse engineering with little concern for polish or production quality. Yet while weirder bands don’t mind sounding abrasive in pursuit of something loftier, Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger manage to pull off their eccentricity with good-natured aplomb.

And as unusual as their work is, the Fiery Furnaces never allow themselves to get lost amidst the smoke and mirrors of a novelty album. Even on “Charmaine Champagne”—the album’s weakest track—there’s an abundance of ridiculous lyrics (“She’s gonna get me folked up, fairly beat”) and honky tonk piano, but they mesh together spectacularly, part of an unlikely master plan.

The second half of the album falls off a bit into tracks with less distinction, but there still exists a plentiful and varied garage rock buffet within. There’s more than a little bite in Eleanor’s voice in “Staring at the Steeple,” pairing it nicely with the wacky glut of hammer-ons in “Keep Me in the Dark” or “Cups and Punches,” which comes complete with a few seconds of mildly disturbing background screaming.

This album meets the Furnaces’ standard of obscure, funny lyrics, but it’s melodically stripped-down and uncomplicated—which, considering the alienating quality of some of their more challenging records, is a nice change. “I’m Going Away” is an easy album to like, and a perfect soundtrack to a lazy summer.