Fiery Furnaces Get Busy Recording 10 Albums for 2011

Indie rockers the Fiery Furnaces have announced plans to release a total of 10 new albums in 2011, including eight solo records by songwriter/instrumentalist Matthew Friedberger.

Although 2010 marks the first year in which the prolific sibling duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger have failed to release a new album since 2003, Matthew has revealed that he will be releasing a vinyl-only series of solo albums, creatively titled 'Solos,' which he will be releasing through Thrill Jockey in 2011.

"Playing rock -- except for driving around and carrying equipment in and out of a van and getting bedbugs from the motel and that kind of thing -- you don't have to work very hard, so it seems," Matthew explained to Entertainment Weekly. "So I thought it would be fun to have way too many things to do."

'Solos' will be released in six vinyl editions over the span of January to November 2011, each LP pairing Matthew's vocals with a different instrument, including piano, organ, guitar, drums, double bass and harp. Though the albums will be sold individually, subscriptions to the set will be sold for $70 via Thrill Jockey, as well as Other Music, Amoeba and several other large indie record stores. Additionally, subscribers will receive two bonus LPs at the end of the year, which Matthew described only as "records on which I don't play the instruments I can't play."

Meanwhile back in Brooklyn, where the Illinois siblings are based, Furnaces singer Eleanor Friedberger is hard at work on her first as-yet-untitled solo album, which she intends to release sometime in 2011.

Finally, the Friedbergers will release a new Furnaces album, which they plan to record after Thanksgiving. "It's going to be a loud, aggressive rock record," Matthew said. "The songs are rock songs. They're pretty wordy, I guess. They definitely have melodies, though. They're songs with words and tunes."

All told, 2011 looks to be an extremely ambitious and diverse -- albeit vague -- year for the Friedbergers. Hopefully they can spend the coming months without another spat with Radiohead and Beck.