The Wayward Review - Andrew Bird's "Noble Beast"

From today on, I shall be reviewing one piece of media, such as a cd, a movie, a book, so on and what not, and putting it on here for the rest of you good folks to read.

Format is going to be pretty easy to follow. General info about the album, then details in each track, then what I think of the album in general.

First off, is a cd.

"Noble Beast" by Andrew Bird

For those of you who do not know who Bird is, I am no surprised. Though a very successful indy musician, a majority of people only concern themselves with what they see on TV. Though Bird has performed twice on Letterman (both are on YouTube), I am still the only person I know besides the owner of the music store in my hometown who even knows of Bird's existence.

That's a damn shame. Lurking in Bird is a profound musical soul. A soul that doesn't hinder itself with being afraid to make music that is a bit odd. Bird's use of layers and looping is, as I put it, "quirky." He's like a male, American, more acoustic Bjork. Trust me when I say that connection will come up again.

And he is one hell of a whistler.

Notable tracks:

Oh No
The opening track for the album starts out whimsically, with a guitar and some strings in the back. Then he starts whistling and a charming song begins to play itself out. This song shows perfectly how odd Bird's lyrics are. Even though he sings clearly and not quickly, you probably won't be able to follow his lyrics because they can be really bizarre, and this song is a perfect example. It probably won't matter though, because this song is so charming that you just won't mind. A light romp though Bird's creative mind, this song is a good opener to the album.

Masterswarm
I'll be honest, when I first got this album, I didn't much care for this song. The first minute is oddly unbearable. But after that minute, holy god, this song bursts at the seams with awesomeness. Again, you won't be able to tell what the hell Bird is talking about here but again you probably won't care. Like Oh No, this song (after the first minute) is incredibly charming. There is a lot of layered elements going on here but it all fits together. I feel this song would be a lot better without the first minute, which just seems like an awkward excuse to use alternating acoustic guitar riffs.

Fitz and Dizzyspells
Of the Bird albums I have, I have noticed that each album needs the high tempo "dance" song. This is that song. From the get go, this song bombards you with energy. I can't not at least tap my foot to this song, which means bad things when driving, but I digress. Just like most of his songs, there are tons of layers and lots of stuff going on, but somehow Bird is able to make it all fit together. A very good song, I have no real complaints about it.

Effigy
This song shows how great a violinist Bird is. It also shows how skilled he is at layering the instruments that he plays. This song is a bit schizophrenic. It starts out with violins, then switches to guitar for some unknown reason around the 1 minute mark. I really would have preferred him sticking with violins, but the song pulls it off. This song is very soft and gentile. It isn't quick at all. Very calming, this song makes for good reading music.

Tenuousness
The first song off the album I actually heard (the pro wrestler Bryan Danielson had set it as his MySpace profile song). The song starts off with at least 3 layers of Bird plucking away on his violin and it is quite beautiful. When he starts signing, it is quite apparent that this is a song that focuses on the lyrics. It starts off fine enough, then gets odd damned fast and I love it. I love driving while listening to this song. Something about it just makes me want to travel.

Not A Robot, But A Ghost
I mentioned a similarity between Bird and Bjork earlier. This is where the connection is most apparent. This song starts out sounding similar to Bjork's I Miss You. The difference is that I Miss You is done mostly electronically, whereas this song is mostly acoustic. This song is so different than the rest of his songs that it turns out to be a perfect Andrew Bird song. Words cannot say how awesome this song really is. The only problem with this song is the end, ie, it happens.

Anonanimal
This song starts out slowly and builds on itself at nearly every step. Bird's soft lyrics here make no sense but are lovely never the less. A very gentile and beautiful song, I love to read while listening to this song.

Souverian
Like Anonanimal, this song starts out slowly, but builds on itself a lot slower, but not to as many layers. Also, the sudden interruption by the piano is pleasing to the ears. An amazingly soft song, this is yet another reading song.


As for notable tracks, that is about it. That isn't all the tracks, but those are the ones I like the most. All in all, this is a good album. For someone uninitiated with Bird, I would recommend listening to "The Mysterious Production of Eggs" first, but this album is just as good. As I mentioned for most of the songs, I love reading while listening to this album. It is very calming and I find I can actually pay attention to the book longer while listening to Bird's music. That isn't to say that the music is forgettable or unremarkable, they just put me in a mood to do something relaxing.

Rating:
4 out of 5 stars.

Best Track:
Not A Ghost, But A Robot definitely.