The Andrew Bird Post I’ve Been Meaning to Write
Andrew Bird is a hero. He doesn’t don a cape or fly around in pants that are too tight for his build–he’s a different kind of hero. He’s the kind of hero that is able to make his greatest weaknesses work for him. He’s the kind of hero that went to Northwestern University. He’s the kind of person that just said “to hell” with all the preconceived notions he had about himself and his image. The result is simply golden.
It used to be that His Birdness did not want to identify with his birdness. His last name is so strikingly accurate in describing his affect, that it seems odd that he didn’t embrace it. Until now. Try to put aside the haunting whistling of his, or the way his voice flutters over each song, or how his violin seems to flap its wings from string to string. You can’t. But try. Then have a look at his album cover: the back of a the head of a Budgerigar (often confused with a parakeet…there’s a difference I guess). It’s the prevailing theme that His Birdness makes on the whole album–that his identity was so close this whole time but he never had time or never wanted to embrace it.
But I’m sure glad he has now. Armchair Apocrypha is full of the unique Birdisms that I find simply irresistible. On “Imitosis”, he sings “We were all basically alone / Despite what all the studies have shown / What was mistaken for closeness was just a case for mitosis”. And with the added stylings of Martin Dosh (drummer), Armchair has a certain full-band quality to it. In fact, the album as a whole plays out more like a full band, which suits Bird’s style of music much better than his strictly solo approach prior to this effort.
On Armchair, His Birdness rarely misses; it’s tough to find a song I don’t think is strong. But enough of the negative side. Have a listen to “Simple X” (written by Dosh actually), and try not to sing along to the infectiously delicious track. With a great drum rhythm section and an electronic piano laying down a delectable beat, “Simple X” is a favorite. Or take “Scythian Empire” which actually appeared on Fingerlings 3, but now has some studio production to really make this song a classic. At about the 2 minutes mark, his whistling chimes in with the chorus that features what I can only describe as pop cans singing. Yes, soda (for you easterners) cans are singing. I could go on forever, but this review is already too long. So with that…
Buy Armchair Apocrypha. Go on. Get it.
Listen to “Imitosis” (5/5)
Listen to “Simple X” (5/5)
Missed Dr. Stringz? Check out the Andrew Bird as Dr. Stringz.
posted in Andrew Bird, Dr. Stringz, Northwestern Artists | 4 Comments
