Eleanor Friedberger wears her creativity lightly these days. Where the output of her original band, the Fiery Furnaces, was stuffed with ideas, a mellow simplicity holds sway on her third solo record. Its musical touchstones are Neil Young and George Harrison and Friedberger’s voice is set to simple arrangements for acoustic, bass, drums and Wurlitzer organ. But if that sounds rather sedate, it shouldn’t; there’s some great hooky indie pop here and plenty of wit and mischief in the lyrics. Friedberger picks over love and relationships in ways that keep you guessing: strange flights of fancy are balanced by offbeat humour and there are startling moments of emotional directness that bring you up short.
