...And the best album of the summer. Friedberger's main band, the Fiery Furnaces, which she leads with her brother Matthew, sometimes deserve the criticism they take for their inscrutable and occasionally impenetrable whimsy. Their debut album, "Gallowsbird's Bark," had a wonderful rush to its pop songs, but since then, the Fiery Furnaces have switched styles and approaches so many times mid-song, mid-album and mid-career that I find it tough to keep up. They've also maybe been a bit too prolific -- seven albums in eight years
Not so on Friedberger's first solo album. It's playful, but also simpler, with a lovely, slightly sweaty pulse. There are still times where I want to tell Friedberger to take a deep breath and others where she loves the weird sounds her keyboards make a bit too much. But Friedberger knows what she wants the whole time and gets there in a direct and charming way. That this is a great summer album is no mistake -- it's titled "Last Summer," with personal references to her apparently wonderful summer 2010 and lyrical references to the places in outer Brooklyn you explore on hazy summer evenings. It sounds like it was recorded on her brownstone's front stoop (also suggested in this music video) -- a warm, sticky and carefree session, surrounded by friends. She also composes the song very well, with keyboards and saxophone arriving to provide lifts just when they're needed.
Maybe nostalgia is overrated, used to create an airbrushed past. But Friedberger realizes that the summer is the most nostalgic of seasons, when you remember running and swimming in the sun as a kid and staying out late, and when you create new memories. She's captured this perfectly here, with music sweet and tart, and the promise of a kiss in there somewhere. The music video for the single, which is by far the album's best song, "My Mistakes," is above. Her forehand appears at the 1:05 mark.
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