One of the best, and frankly, most overlooked albums of 2016 was Eleanor Friedberger’s third solo album New View. The former Fiery Furnaces singer excels at weaving together mind-expanding wordplay with tender melodic arrangement and has solidified herself as a critic’s favorite. On May 4th, Friedberger will share her latest creation with the world, a new album titled Rebound and today has pulled the curtain off of the first single “In Between Stars.”
For Rebound, Friedberger ditched the live sound that marked much of New View and instead hunkered down with producer Clemens Knieper to make a record marked more with programmed drums and electronic synths. Most of the sound, aesthetic and actually, the title of the record itself, stemmed from evenings spent at an ’80s goth disco in Athens, Greece.
“After a month in Athens I asked my friend, the Greek musician Σtella, ‘What’s one thing I have to do before I leave?’ After some long and careful consideration she smiled and said, ‘You have to go to Rebound. It’s a time warp; kind of an 80s goth disco where everyone does the chicken dance; you’ll love it… but it’s only open on Saturdays after 3:00 AM.’ Rebound proved to be a revelation in terms of finding the sound and energy for my fourth album. The club was very dark and despite the no smoking signs, like everywhere in Athens, it was very smoky. The ‘chicken dance’ Stella mentioned was a solitary one. I copied the slouchy strut, moving back and forth in line, swinging my arms in time to the music that at first sounded like Joy Division or maybe The Cure, but never revealed itself. One could only assume it to be knock-off by an unknown Baltic band. It was alienating and exhilarating.”
You can listen to Friedberger’s latest single “In Between Stars” above, and check out her upcoming slate of tour dates below.
02/15 — New York, NY @ City Vineyard at Pier 26
02/16 — Boston, MA @ City Winery
02/17 — Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
04/04 — London, UK @ Moth Club
04/28 — Kingston, NY @ BSP
05/01 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
05/03 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake
05/05 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
05/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
