Originally from Chicago, The Fiery Furnaces – created and fronted by brother and sister duo Matt and Eleanor Friedberger – now live in New York, an undisputed hub for creative types searching for a bit of rock ‘n’ roll circus groove. Now if you’re expecting skin-tight trousers, cowboy boots and plenty of hair to fling about the stage, think again. This is 21st century rock.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what inspires the Fiery Furnaces. When asked, Matt responds, “Why, other rock music, of course, and the situations in which people use and enjoy this music.” He shows the diversity of their inspiration by also mentioning “the writing in the business pages of newspapers, or ad circulars, local radio advertisements (the music, the production values, and the texts used)—and of course, Ramon Llull and Ausiàs March.” Their evident interest in the more mundane aspects of the modern world is contradicted by their curiosity for some obscure 14th-century Catalan poets—The Fiery Furnace’s breadth of inspiration seemingly knows no bounds.

Fans of rock ‘n’ roll legends like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Who, The Kinks and Bob Dylan, The Fiery Furnaces have etched out their own place in the genre with a distinctive fairytale of modern life lyrics. Likened to contemporary indie pair The White Stripes, the intense sound of Matt Friedberger’s tentative and prolonged guitar synths, alongside Eleanor’s innocent raw voice and lyrics take listeners to a complex place of musical and lyrical playfulness—not unlike their psychedelic rock predecessors. With songs such as Ex-Guru, this is hardly a doubt.

The new year promises more journeys into musical obscurity for The Fiery Furnaces with a hot new idea for a “Silent Record”. As Matt describes, this will be the release of “an album – in this case a book – of music notation, and then (we will) organize shows in which our fans will play this music, and we will listen.” A novel idea that promises to fire up the concept of gig-going for the new decade, let’s hope they bring it to Barcelona later in 2010. RS

February 22nd

Razzmatazz. Sala 3. C/ Pamplona, 88 (Poble Nou) h€17.

www.thefieryfurnaces.com, www.salarazzmatazz.com