Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger formed The Fiery Furnaces during a golden era of indie music: The year 2000, in New York City. The band went on to release eight records over the course of the next seven years following their 2003 debut. After a lengthy hiatus in 2010 in which both halves of the duo pivoted towards a solo career, The Fiery Furnaces are making a triumphant return.
“Down At The So And So On Somewhere” marks The Fiery Furnaces’ first release in ten years. Along with releasing the single digitally, the track will be pressed into a 7-inch vinyl with the bonus single “The Fortune Teller’s Revenge.”
The duo was slated to make their on-stage return at Pitchfork Music Festival this summer, which has since been canceled due to the pandemic. While the band can’t make an on-stage return for the foreseeable future, they still wanted to make an impact. Consequently, The Fiery Furnaces will donate a portion of proceeds from their 7-inch and accompanying merch to Black Lives Matter and AACM Chicago, an organization composed of Black artists who aim to preserve their craft and showcase their unique talents.
In a statement alongside the single’s release, The Fiery Furnaces said they penned the track back in February as a reflection on regret, but it has since morphed in meaning in light of recent events:
“This is the first new music from The Fiery Furnaces in ten years. The songs were recorded in New York City and a few hours north of New York City on February 3 and February 10 – 12, 2020. ‘Down at the So and So on Somewhere’ is a regretful song about having regrets. Now it seems even more sad than we thought it was back then: ‘Will you meet me,’ etc. Matthew was happy to use a Soviet drum machine. Eleanor was happy to play real drums. ‘The Fortune Teller’s Revenge’ is another sad song. We cut out the lines from the first and third verse: ‘with me; just kidding’ and ‘leave everything to me.’ Matthew likes hearing Eleanor sing ‘I’m sorry to say I’ve never made a mistake.’ Eleanor likes that you can’t quite tell who’s singing what, when.”
Listen to “Down At The So And So On Somewhere” above. Get the 7-inch release via Third Man Records here.