Bird made his TV debut on David Letterman earlier this year with Plasticities (playing now). Click the  button to hear another favorite, Imitosis. |
Bird is a little like Mark O'Conner or Ricky Skaggs in that he moves from band to band and among genres with relative ease. He has played big band with Squirrel Nut Zippers, adult alternative with Ani DiFranco and even teaches at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music (where they most definitely call it a fiddle).
On his own recordings, Bird’s style is adult alternative. Maybe it’s too easy to compare any Chicago adult alternative musician to iconic Wilco, but the sophistication of the music and lyrics produced by Bird reminds me of that band’s legendary album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. As generous as that comparison is, however, any comparison to any other act or album sells Bird short.
Bird’s 2007 release, Armchair Apocrypha, is perhaps the most creative album of the year. Although the liner notes do not refer to it, Bird reportedly plays, among many other instruments, a glockenspiel on this album. In the interest of full disclosure, he could be an absolutely horrid glockenspielist and I would not know the difference.
That notwithstanding, Armchair Apocrypha is a great album that showcases Bird’s extensive talent as a lyricist and his prodigious command of multiple instruments. Armchair Apocrypha is a critical and commercial success that comes from a guy who doesn't seem to care much about either.
Whether one refers to Bird as a fiddler, violinist or glockenspieler (or is it ist?), reminds me of the old saying, “I don't care what they call me, so long as they call me.”
Semantics aside, Andrew Bird is a massive talent who has just released one of the year’s best.
andrewbird.net
myspace.com/andrewbird
