The Fiery Furnaces, "The End Is Near" (2009)

find it on I'm Going Away

For some odd reason that I can't begin to guess, I keep imagining this song as soundtracking a montage scene of misery in one of those Peanuts movies from the 70's. There's Charlie Brown walking through the rain with his head hung low, and there's Schroeder playing the piano part in his warm home as Charlie walks by. It would seem just as trippy and out-of-place as any of the non-Guaraldi songs that they used in those movies.

Weird views into my deeper psychology aside, I'd like to welcome back the brilliant quirk-pop version of the Fiery Furnaces. Their inscrutable, ADD noisefest tendencies were left at the door for this record, and while nothing on this record tops "Here Comes The Summer" or "We Got Back The Plague", it's a great record; a slew of bizarre ear worms that makes for some great, itchy listening.