ARTIST:
ANDREW BIRD

ALBUM:
BREAK IT YOURSELF

KEY TRACKS:
THINGS BEHIND THE BARN
HOLE IN THE OCEAN FLOOR
ORPHEO LOOKS BACK
DESPERATION BREEDS...

"we keep breeding desperation in this era of thieves"  

Chicago's most talented whistler has returned with a lovely new release full of his whimsical characteristic strings and lyrics rooted strongly in nature.  Andrew Bird has a very special talent of layering music like decadent layers of mille feuille.  Yet this new release is surprisingly subdued compared to past works.  Furthermore, Andrew's violin sounds distinctly more country than classical which was quite unexpected.

Much of my time spent listening to Break it Yourself was during my lunch break at work when I would read about the upcoming election.  We just had two back to back conventions and my head is still spinning with all the showmanship & diplomacy that's been saturating my brain.  I've always shied away from politics, but this year I'm actively trying to take control of my vote and stay educated in the race.  It's a bit overwhelming- really who can you trust during these things?- but I'm in it for the country!


Anyways, perhaps it was all of my political exposure in the past two weeks, but I can't help but always think of America when I play this album.  It's like a homage to grassroots with the twangy strings and nature based references of bees and beekeepers, foxes and field mice, mountains and highlands,  plowing your patch of land, etc.  Although Andrew Bird clearly didn't write this album with that political innuendo, it is a rather uncanny coincidence that this album came into my life when it did.  

Nothing backs that point more than the lovely "Orpheo Looks Back" which is dripping with references to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.   One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking stories in ancient myth it's the story of the musician Orpheus who, upon the death of his wife Eurydice, sang such beautiful songs of mourning that all the gods wept.  As a result, they allowed him to descend into the underworld to lead Eurydice back, but only if he did not look back while she followed him out.  As indicated by the song's title, you can probably guess what happened.  Andrew Bird's lyrics in this song also infer the delicate situation in which Orpheus is in:  

"They say you don't look

there's only one way 

on back from on back from here

they say you don't look 

they say you don't look or it'll disappear"

Such a lovely ode to one of the most beautiful and tragic love stories of the ancient world.  Yet oddly enough, my favorite track on the album is "Things Behind the Barn"  which has absolutely no lyrical content at all.  But there is a magic in this track, and one that leaves me curious as to just what is behind the barn?!  It's a beautiful flutter of strings and musicianship that has always left me starstruck by this  artist. 

There are lots of grandiose flourishes throughout the album, from the eerie cries that pepper "Desperation Breeds" to the long croons of "Hole in the Ocean Floor".  It's a glorious celebration of the heartland (for me at least) and a nice break from those long winded political speeches.  

LISTEN:  THINGS BEHIND THE BARN  |  HOLE IN THE OCEAN FLOOR  |  ORPHEO LOOKS BACK  |  DESPERATION BREEDS...

NEXT WEEK:  ROMAN CANDLE  |  OH TALL TREE IN THE EAR