ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER with Icewater and The Middle Coast at the Drake Hotel (1150 Queen West), Monday (February 22), 8 pm. $16.50. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly.com.
After more than a decade of living in Brooklyn, Eleanor Friedberger packed up for new digs and a more laid-back lifestyle upstate. Her third album, New View, reflects the relaxed vibes that come with having severed yourself from the hustle and bustle of the city for quieter surroundings. Its breezy, Laurel Canyon-esque folk-rock conjures countryside.
“It’s funny: I don’t know if that’s a reflection of my state of mind or the way the songs were recorded,” says the ex-Fiery Furnaces member over the phone from her home.
“I think it’s a combination of both. But I hear that very much, too. My other records sound like albums to listen to with headphones on the subway. Just kinda tight, you know?”
Not wanting to hang out upstate for her first winter in the new place, Friedberger headed to California to do some shows with her now backing band, Icewater. After taking some time on the West Coast to rehearse, they headed back to New York – Germantown, specifically – to record.
“It was the most thoughtful recording process I’ve ever done, back to the very first Fiery Furnaces record,” Friedberger says. “We really had a handle on the songs and what was gonna happen on each track and all that kind of stuff. We didn’t do a huge amount of experimenting in the studio. I just wanted to capture the sound of a live band.”
There may have been no better place to do it. Friedberger sounds more comfortable than ever in the loose, natural grooves of New View, less anxious than in her past work. While she says she used to love the energy that came with cycling around New York City, when she visits now it’s not long before she wants to get home to “some peace and quiet.
“I don’t know if that’s a thing about getting older and just kind of having enough of all that stuff and needing that in smaller doses, or just being happy in my own environment that I’m completely in control of, with my furniture and books around me. That feels more important to me now.”
music@nowtoronto.com | @mattgeewilliams
