Andrew Bird is something of an Indie Rock stalwart, having been putting out records since 1996. Hailing from Lake Forest, Illinois but sounding very New York to me. Judging by his latest, Inside Problems, he's highly, highly intelligent and boy does he want you to know it.
Frankly, you could write a whole and reasonably long post about any song on the record should you wish to do so. There is so much going on, musically and lyrically on each track.
Musically, Bird operates somewhere between the schools of Dylan, Lou Reed and Steely Dan. The music itself has elemments of Chamber Pop, with string sections turning up on most tracks. Lyrically he dissects the contradictions of life and love.
How you react to all this is dependent on your tastes. I personally found it all a bit too self consciously clever and lacking in immediate hooks to make me think I'd be back to this one too often. I might be wrong, it certainly grows on you, the longer you listen. Worth a listen anyhow.
I saw him supporting the Handsome Family (I think?) in the very early 2000s. Not quite my thing, musically, but the man can whistle!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering whether it's quite my thing actually.. Will go back to this record though.
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