Released earlier this year, Chris Cohen‘s As If Apart is an absolute masterpiece of an album and tonight he brings it from Los Angeles to a pretty humid Birmingham. Having played every note on the record, Cohen has managed to assemble a touring band who really communicate the essence of the album. David Givhan provides the wonderfully elastic bass lines, Aaron Olson the distinctively woozy keyboards and Avi Buffalo‘s Sheridan Riley does an incredible job with the intricate drum patterns, particularly on the album’s title track which is represented here in a lean and mighty version.
The gorgeous ‘Drink From A Silver Cup’ is thrown in early, while should’ve-been-a-smash-hit ‘Torrey Pine’ is ecstatic, Cohen’s beautifully understated vocals eventually giving way to the wig-out finale which sends the track off at a tangent. Investigation of the album is very much recommended, if you haven’t got to it already.
Eleanor Friedberger came to prominence in the unique Fiery Furnaces, (alongside brother Matthew Friedberger), and it is probably fair to say that her three solo albums since the band went on hiatus in 2011 have had a more conventional and mainstream sound, notwithstanding the fact that she very much has her own distinctive style. Tonight’s set is built around this year’s excellent New View album, but has a smattering of tracks from her other solo albums and even a few Fiery Furnaces’ nuggets thrown in for good measure.
The three-piece band begin with New View‘s opener, the highly catchy ‘He Didn’t Mention His Mother’, Friedberger taking on guitar duties with bass and drums completing the classic line-up. The audience are loving it, although Friedberger’s mention of her old band in advance of playing their song ‘Evergreen’ is met with a curiously muted response from the audience, which the apparently amused artist declares “the least reaction I have ever got to saying that.” The song itself is a triumph, though, and is lapped up, as is an energetic run through the Furnaces’ ‘I’m Gonna Run’ a couple of songs later: “I pierced my ears with a three-hole punch / Ate twelve dozen doughnuts for lunch” sings Friedberger; truly lyrics that could only belong to that band.
New View has some excellent moments, none better than ‘Does Turquoise Work?’, which is given an outing after Friedberger plugging its video which was painstakingly made by the song’s, (though not tonight’s band’s), bass player Jonathan Rosen.
The new songs are as well-received as the old and the after Personal Record‘s lovely ‘Stare At The Sun’ concludes the main set, Friedberger and band return after the briefest of breaks to run through Last Summer‘s ‘My Mistakes’ and a wonderful blast through her old band’s former 45 ‘Single Again’.
After eight studio albums with Fiery Furnaces and now three solo records, Eleanor Friedberger shows no signs of running short on creativity or energy and tonight she truly shines.
Photo courtesy of Eleanor Friedberger website
