Andrew
Bird
"Weather Systems" CD
Righteous
Babe Records
Genres: singer / songwriter, folk-rock
Righteous Babe
P. O. Box 95, Ellicott Station, Buffalo, NY 14205-0095
May 10 - 16 2004 |
Andrew Bird, whose discography includes a number of Rykodisc
albums and countless appearances as violinist and fiddler on other
people's records, switched on to Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe
label for this new release. And if you think the cover looks nice, you'll be pleased to discover how beautiful the music itself is.
Weather Systems is truly a wonderful release. Though
it may be somewhat brief, this disc - and its eight addictively
whimsical tunes - makes for great repeated listening. Bird's
Rufus Wainwright-esque vocals are refreshing and somewhat folky,
while his luxurious, violin-led arrangements are simply
monumental. In the sense of its epic, almost orchestral
structure, Weather Systems has a similar sound to Badly
Drawn Boy's About a Boy soundtrack - though it's
considerably better.
Andrew Bird starts his disc off with the suitably playful
(and almost coy) "First Song," a cute folk-pop number marked
by jumpy acoustic guitar and a fantastic whistling part. On
"Lull" the listener is confronted by an infectious melody
and some pretty violin-and-guitar interplay - it wouldn't feel out of
place on a Wainwright album, though I'm not complaining.
The title-track, meanwhile, is the disc's nearly seven minute epic;
though a tad convoluted, it's still a moving, original work of
singer/songwriter-esque pop.
I am extremely impressed by Weather Systems, which could go
down as Andrew Bird's best album yet. These elegant,
powerfully infectious tunes should appeal to pretty much anyone who
gets an earful. You won't want to miss out.
90%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
9 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |