Greg Saunier, the drummer for Deerhoof (who recently toured with The Fiery Furnaces) has said, “Their CDs are masterpieces. They are incredibly beautiful and painstakingly put together art objects, which people will puzzle over for years to come.” In the case of Widow City, The Fiery Furnaces’ latest endeavour, this statement reads truer than ever.

Acting as an overture to what could be thought of as the Widow City rock opera, “The Philadelphia Grand Jury” offers snippets of inventive riffs and symphonic storytelling that wouldn’t be out of place in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s an inventive way to familiarize listeners with the band’s visual songwriting style.

The following three songs, “Duplexes of the Dead,” “Automatic Husband” and “Ex-Guru” — probably the album’s finest — act as a suite about trances, automatic writing and sham mysticism. Similar to the band’s earlier work, listening to these songs requires a desire to decode the overall message hidden within the lyrics.

“Clear Signal from Cairo” blends Egyptian musical phrasing and a jarring, distorted rhythm that brings to mind old dial-up modem test patterns. Later, Eleanor Friedberger croons about fantastical hieroglyphs for motorcycle helmets. Her beautifully trained voice is a pleasure to listen to.

Unlike previous Furnaces albums, on which Matthew Friedberger was responsible for the vast majority of the studio instrumentation, Widow City’s percussion duties were handled by talented touring drummer Robert D'Amico. He clearly understands how the dramatic lyrical moments are integral to the song’s musical peaks. Incidentally, he is also a much stronger drummer than Mr. Friedberger, giving the former much more room to experiment on his guitar and Chamberlin keyboard.

On the surface, the album’s tracks — or vignettes, to be more accurate — may seem absurd or bewildering, but therein lies the Fiery fun. This effort is not as sprawling as their Greek-American family portrait, Rehearsing My Choir, nor as lighthearted as Bitter Tea. If anything, it most closely resembles the highly conceptual nature of Blueberry Boat. Like that album, it’s definitely worth the effort to explore Widow City’s mysterious sidestreets and forgotten abodes.