Winter Women and Holy Ghost Language School are two albums by Matthew Friedberger

Matthew Friedberger

Matthew Friedberger is half of the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces. In the band he contributes the majority of the instrumentation, writes most of the songs and lyrics and occasionally sings...

 of The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The siblings are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago.- Band biography :...

 recorded, unlike The Fiery Furnaces records, without his sister Eleanor Friedberger

Eleanor Friedberger

Eleanor Friedberger is part of the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew Friedberger. In the band she contributes the majority of the vocals both on record and during their live performances. Eleanor grew up singing with her grandmother, Olga Sarantos and family in a Greek...

. Though two separate albums, they were released together as a double album

Double album

A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 by 859 Recordings in August 2006. It was rereleased in October 2009 on Thrill Jockey Records.

Track listing

Winter Women – 62:44

1. "Under the Hood at the Paradise Garage" – 4:06
2. "The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co. Resignation Letter" – 3:43
3. "Up the River" – 4:29
4. "Ruth vs. Rachel" – 2:51
5. "Her Chinese Typewriter" – 4:21
6. "Big Bill Crib and His Ladies of the Desert" – 3:21
7. "Don't You Remember?" – 3:45
8. "Becha Don’t" – 2:54
9. "P.S. 213 Mini"-School – 3:54
10. "Theme from Never Going Home Again" – 2:44
11. "Motorman" – 5:58
12. "Quick as Cupid" – 3:47
13. "I Love You Cedric" – 4:39
14. "Servant in Distress" – 3:28
15. "Hialeah" – 2:56
16. "Wisconsin River Blues" – 5:40

Bonus Tracks from 2009 rerelease-

1. "Rio Tinto" - 3:50
2. "260 Northern Blvd." - 3:02

Holy Ghost Language School – 46:09

1. Seventh Loop Highway – 3:57
2. Holy Ghost Language School – 4:13
3. The Cross and the Switchblade – 3:54
4. I Started Using Alcohol at the Age of Eleven – 3:57
5. Do You Like Blondes? – 2:50
6. Azusa St. – 4:24
7. Topeka and San Antonio – 3:40
8. A Mystical Preparative to Lewdness – 2:47
9. Ship Scrap Beach Business – 2:18
10. First Day of School – 2:50
11. Things Were Going So Well – 4:07
12. All in Vain or the Opposite – 5:05
13. Moral and Epilogue – 2:00

Bonus Tracks from 2009 rerelease-

1. "Rain" - 12:43
2. "Porcupine Posed a Prickly Problem" - 11:53

Additional information

Despite the solo albums The Fiery Furnaces will continue releasing new material as a group. When asked by Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 about the reason for them being recorded/released separately Matthew, who writes most of the music and lyrics for The Fiery Furnaces responded with:

"Eleanor's on vacation, We have a logjam of records, so [this is] the only way to have something come out relatively quickly. And I don't have to bother Eleanor to get her to sing all this crap, so...that's the advantage. It's an act of mercy."http://pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/2006/01/27

Winter Women is also stated in the liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

 as being dedicated to Eleanor.

While Winter Women is a more conventional collection of songs, the second record Holy Ghost Language School is a narrative based concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

, although it has significantly fewer lyrics.

Matthew Friedberger played the majority of the instruments on the records and did most of the production work but John McEntire

John McEntire

John McEntire is an American recording engineer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best-known for being in Tortoise and The Sea and Cake, as well as being a highly in-demand producer and engineer....

 from Tortoise

Tortoise (band)

Tortoise is an American post-rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1990.-Music:Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in...

 and Josh Johannpeter from Mahjongg

Mahjongg (band)

将麻 is a two-piece band based in Chicago, Illinois formerly known as "Mahjongg," consisting of multi-instrumentalist Hunter Husar and drummer Josh Johannpeter...

 helped out by providing some of the non-synthesized drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s.