Description
Among midlife indie kids working a sidelong vision of classic-rock ecstasy, there aren’t many doing it with more grace or smarts than Eleanor Friedberger. She’s been at it since the early 2000s – first with her brother Matthew in the Fiery Furnaces, and now as a solo artist – and she’s currently hitting an artistic peak. Friedberger’s lyrics feel a little more autobiographical this time out. The list of compliance requests she reads an auditioning boyfriend over Billy Preston-ish organs on “Because I Asked You” includes “treat me like a tennis pro” and “help me out with my rewrites.” Friedberger recounts a day-long stroll that turns dramatically when she and her hiking buddy accidentally bump shoulders while laughing together and hits peak cute as they “kiss in front of strangers like regular lovers do.” She ends up taking the bus home to “write this song alone,” but it’s still a win-win: awesome day for her, excellent music for us.
