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Bitter Tea - The Fiery Furnaces
Bitter Tea Image
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 50 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: The increasingly prolific brother-sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger (this time, sans grandmother) return with their fourth album.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 30
  3. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    Despite the oddball showpieces, the Furnaces have refocused the lens on their homemade-pop kaleidoscope, and the result is a unversally resonant album that's not just more joyful than it's companion; it's also more essential. [Jul 2006, p.192]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Drowned In Sound
    60
    There's something impenetrable about it, an obtuse level of abstraction and a slightly joyless delivery that really leaves this listener with no point of entry at times.
  3. Slant Magazine
    30
    Less a rebound from the indulgent for-friends-and-family-only nightmare of Rehearsing My Choir than a lateral side-step, Bitter Tea sounds like a desperate plea to be labeled as "clever."

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
  1. PaulJ
    10
    Chewy and innovative musicianship combines with intelligent, thoughtful lyricism, to take your hand in theirs for a trip (in all good senses) into a private parallel world which provides much-needed disengagment therapy from the careworn workaday world. A musical highspot for 2006… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. AaronQ
    5
    Not as obnoxious as previous releases, which is a plus. However... much much much more boring. Although, "Benton Harbor Blues," and the shortened, single version of the song, is totally my jam.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. DaveR
    3
    It's like listening to the grandiose, wild experimentation of Blueberry Boat without the sweeping melodies and brilliant 'pop' moments. They've developed a completely unique and personal sound but without a more grounded core these songs mostly become an exercise in pushing boundaries, so if that's your cup of 'tea' then go for it.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 32 User Reviews

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