Comparison of Brother and Sister Bands of 2006

With the White Stripes disappointing effort on 2005s "Get Behind Me Satan" (along with the fact that they actually aren't related), the title of "Best Brother and Sistere Duo" is officially up for grabs. Lucky for us, two bro/sis combos were in the studio in 2006, working hard to be known as the best (of, well, basically only three). Anyway, The Knife's critically acclaimed "Silent Shout" and the Fiery Furnaces' always turbulent "Bitter Tea" are going head to head. Here's the scorecard:

Round 1:
The Knife open "Silent Shout" with the aptly named "Silent Shout", a fairly straight forward euro-electronica song with eerie vocals. My head is bobbing and I'm intrigued as to where these Swedes are going to take me over the rest of the album.

The Fiery Furnances waste little time on "My Little Thatched Hut" and, in typical Friedberger style, are throwing everything they have at the listener. Elanor's vocals are just about the only constant as this song changes tempos, styles and instruments every time I start to feel comfortable with it. Maybe the Furnaces are commenting upon how life is transient and always changing before you ever really get a handle on it. Then again, maybe they just have a bad case of ADD.

Scorecard: The Furnances threw some haymakers and were "busier". They get rewarded with a 10-9 round.

Early Rounds:
The Dreijer siblings continue with the so-so "Neverland" and spend some time getting the atmosphere just right on "The Captain" before getting into a thoughtful and complete arrangment. "We Share Our Mother's Health" proves the Knife are in full control of their beats, but leaves something to be desired vocally.

The Furnaces counter with the delightfully playful (but still disheveled) "I'm In No Mood" and the surprisingly focused (only two competing ideas!) and devious "Black Hearted Boy". The theme continues into the frazzled-at-first, but well laid out "Bitter Tea", which is easily the most enjoyable listen of record thus far. The tender "Teach Me Sweetheart" and the complete "I'm Waiting to Know You" show that the Furnaces are capable of settling down and letting their ideas come to fruition.

Scorecard: Usually the more sound an artist puts on a record, the greater their chances of failure, but the Furnaces have utilized every second so far. The Friedbergers are in complete control, winning two rounds 10-9. Tough to penalized the Knife for their unique style, so the other two rounds are 10-10.

Middle Rounds:
Both bands have established their style with their early tracks, so lets see who can execute down the stretch.

The Knife's "Na Na Na" is straight out of the Sigur Ros playbook. Is Sweden very far from Iceland? Thankfully, I'm American and it don't have to be bother by facts like that. Whoa, while I was busy pondering fjords, windmills and the homeland of Hamlet, the Dreijer's put together their most solid effort thus far. "Marble House" and "Like A Pen" are completely unique , yet easily accessible. Every detail of these two songs was carefully crafted and showcase the Knife's incredible talent.

Dammit all, the Friedbergers lost all of their momentum with the "Vietnamese Telephone Ministry" that was all build-up, but no follow through. Fortunately, my disappointment does not last long, since the first :25 seconds of "Oh Sweet Woods" is the most danceable thing I have heard in a long time. But of course with all things Friedberger, the song changes up before finally settling in funkytown. "Borneo" and "Police Sweater Blood Vow" are pleasant, but indistinct.

Scorecard: The Knife wins two rounds 10-9, the Furnances win the other 10-9.

Late Rounds:
The Knife continue their success with the intimate and fragile "From Off to On". "Forest Families" excels with its rising and falling tones and easily the best vocal performance thus far. Unfortunately, "One Hit" is forced and leaves me feeling indifferent.

The Furnaces respond with "Nevers" which seems to buckle under its own weight, but worry not, the soulful "Benton Harbor Blues" will carry the Friedbergers' home. Elenor's lyrics color (possibly blue?) a disappointing, empty time and the music matches it perfectly; interesting and fun, but ultimately shallow and frivolous. Well done Furnaces. "Whistle Rhapsody",which has the Furnaces playing with heavy piano and attempting to be guitar heroes, drags on and the "Nevers (Remix)" does as little for me now as the original did three tracks ago.

The Knife had two solid efforts and a dud, the Furnaces had three so-so songs and a huge effort. Sounds like 10-9, 10-9, 9-10 for the Knife.


Final Round:
It's not how you start, but how you leave me feeling as your record comes to a close. Who is better at concluding their ideas and wrapping up their album?

The Knife starts slowly on "Still Light" and start building, adding a death filled narrative, rising tones, the echo of a cymbal crash, before stealing away into the cold Scandinavian night. My mind wanders to all the places this song could have gone and how I could listen to this song for 10 more minutes and how it was nearly criminal that the Knife did not fully develop this idea. This, however, is the essence of the Knife, never letting the listener all the way into their world and restraining from overindulgence. A fitting end to their record.

For their last statement on "Bitter Tea" the Friedbergers' chose to reprise the ideas of "Benton Harbor Blues" in "Benton Harbor Blues (Again)". But as best as I can tell, the Furnaces simply hacked out the catchy part of Benton and played it again, so it's tough to call it a reprise. Part of me hates the idea of putting the same song on an album twice, but another part of me really liked hearing this song again and repetition does make for a good conclusion. Anyway, I'm not really sure how I feel about this, but that is pretty much par for the course with the Fiery Furnaces.

Final Round: 10-9 to the Knife



Final Talley:

The Knife 115, Fiery Furnaces 115

Shit, did not mean for that to happen. Anyway, since I'm the only judge, I'm giving this one to the Fiery Furnaces as Bitter Tea was one of their best performances to date. To the Knife, I say "stay hungry and next time you may catch the breaks".