Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
Would it hurt anyone’s feelings if I said that I just wasn’t convinced by this album, particularly? Which is not to say that I don’t think it’s superbly done, more that it is now just an excellent pop record whereas previous Bird efforts have been right up there at the top of my pantheon of wondrousness.
When I first got into Andrew Bird the thing that pulled me in more than anything – even more than the brilliant violin, the intelligent lyrics and the, erm, well yes, the whistling – was the slightly ramshackle eccentricity of the whole thing. Weather Systems and Mysterious Production of Eggs had a sort of scatterbrained meandering quality which I loved. It was sort of like listening to a folk version of Howe Gelb at times. This aspect of the music is all but gone here, and inasmuch as it doesn’t influence his capacity for writing brilliant tunes, sweeping, emotionally captivating violins and some of the cleverest wordsmithery around, it somehow does take away from the garden shed folk genius aura he had before.
Ultimately though, this feels like an incredibly churlish complaint. This is slick record of intelligent, catchy pop perfection. Very few people out there can come close to matching his ability to generate a single-finger desk drumming pop-along rhythm. Nor his now quite expansively orchestrated musical backgrounds – still a little unusual, despite the sheen. I am going to see him live in London shortly and, assuming he won’t be bringing a whopping great band with him, I am guessing I’ll get to see the scruffy heart of these songs then. Until then – pure pop perfection from Mr. Bird, although I do sometimes miss the shambolic folk weirdo. But maybe that’s just me being a bit too precious.
Andrew Bird – Heretics
Andrew Bird – Scythian Empires
I didn’t care for it. It was lovingly recommended to me by many people, but I don’t think my musical tastes are really mature enough to appreciate his subtleties (meaning I fell asleep).
Oh, come now, any artist who namechecks the Scythians is worth a bit of while in my books…
I find the album a little difficult to listen to in its entirety as well, but once songs started to turn up in isolation when I turned on my randomiser I started to appreciate them more.
Have you heard any of his earlier stuff, Liz? Same reaction or not?
And FiL, I think palindromes is his favourite word. It’s turned up a few times now and for a rather obscure word, that’s a lot.
hi toad. i’m afraid i’m one of those folks who’ve tried to convince dear liz that she should give the bird a chance–so sorry to hear it’s not doing it for her. i, for one, absolutely love this album. and i think i like it so very much for the reason you don’t. i find the lyrical nature and the forward-movement of the songs very compelling. there’s something almost symphonic about the songs, and the album as a whole, that i think takes what he does to a whole new level.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I really do like the album. It’s excellent, but I rarely find myself taking anything this polished entirely to heart, that’s all.
i tell you what, let’s compare notes after you see him in london and i see him in philadelphia (may 18). i’m really curious to see how this album translates to live performance.
and thanks for the link! : )