Bird a Noble Beast

Andrew Bird
Noble Beast
2009/Fat Possum Records

by Kate McKENNA

I've met - well, heard - my true love, and his name is Andrew Bird. We've been inseparable since acquainting in early 2006, and our bond has grown insurmountably since. A lady loves to gush, and while I'm hesitant to share, I've kept him a secret for far too long -
I don't know if it's the whistling, the strings (oh, how I love the strings!), or his sultry tones, but Andrew Bird's newest album, Noble Beast, is excellent from start to finish.

Initially, Noble Beast doesn't captivate as quickly as Bird's first four solo albums. Like his prior albums, Bird demands a degree of attention paid to his work - the subtly of his arrangement, the layering of songs, the quality of production and the sensitive, clever lyrics can't be appreciated as background music. Succinctly, Prozak fans need not apply. Unlike his past four albums, however, Bird seems to have found his niche. Bird's niche is in idiosyncrasies - his lyrics are obscure and arcane, his melodies are bizarre and wrote with a wide array of instruments. Bird has no qualms to plod experimentally ahead, to the beat of his (bongo) drum. Nothing has changed, but somehow, it's all come together.

People more cruel than I have mocked Bird for his girly name, and also, for occasionally being strikingly similar to elevator music. Alas, I concede the first, and somewhat concede the second. In his specific sub-genre of indie rock, his competitors fill the brim with mediocrity. Bird is set apart by his ability to write one helluva catchy song, and perhaps by his penchant to write on science, existentialism, and evolutionary psychology. Does that sound unappealing to you? Get your hands on his last album, Armchair Apocrypha, and prove me wrong. It's nothing short of brilliant.

Standout tracks on Noble Beast include "Not A Robot, But A Ghost", "Natural Disaster" and "Anonanimal". Though not yet available for purchase, it is due for release on January 20th, 2009.