The Record Crate by Alex V. Cook – ‘Last Summer’ blues

I am infatuated with Eleanor Friedberger’s Last Summer. Her band with her brother Matthew, the Fiery Furnaces, trade in a disjointed form of new wave blues, like Captain Beefheart through Thompson Twins, but on her own, Ms. Friedberger channels her unique vision through effervescent soft pop, combining her Stevie Nicks witchcraft with Christine McVie songcraft. It’s a gorgeous record on which, from the breezy account of “My Mistakes” to the noirish cabaret come-ons on “The Inn of the Seventh Ray”, the stalkerish “One-Month Marathon” to the cheery but trepidacious oldies-redux “I Won’t Fall Apart On You Tonight”, Ms. Friedberger sees herself in the mirror as a most peculiar pop star and lets that light shine right through the album. Read more…