Andrew Bird has one of the most expansive discographies of any artist working today. The virtuosic violinist, whistler, singer, and songwriter almost can\u2019t stop creating music–whether it be an album covering the tunes of one of his biggest musical influences; albums recorded in various locations across the country, including a river and a canyon; or making a personal and jazzy full length record, it seems like he\u2019s always up to something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Bird has been politically active in the past,\nsome of the lyrics on this latest album, My\nFinest Work Yet<\/em>, are explicitly about the divisiveness of politics in\nAmerica. The second track \u201cBloodless\u201d directly takes on this issue. Bird\u2019s\nperspective is, as per usual, perceptive, but his words lack their usual grace\nand metaphor that he\u2019s so famous for. At points they almost seem awkward, like\nin the bridge where he points out that \u201c…it feels like 1936\/ In Catalonia\u201d.\nIt\u2019s an apt comparison, but it hardly fits into the song. Despite these lyrical\nflaws, the melody and sound are very coy and smooth–they bring to mind the\nimage of a detective in a noir film, slinking around in a trench coat while it\nrains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBloodless\u201d is perhaps the closest relation in terms of sound to Bird\u2019s previous release, Are You Serious<\/em>, which featured the first songs Bird had written about his wife and son on top of some beautiful, detailed, and sometimes jazz-infused tracks. The rest of My Finest Work Yet <\/em>strays pretty far from the path that Are You Serious <\/em>seemed to put Bird down. He\u2019s back to writing intellectual lyrics filled with wordplay, which is perhaps something that longtime fans will enjoy. The thing that makes the album fall somewhat flat in parts is the choice to go with a more folk-indie style of instrumentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Typically, Bird\u2019s music is characterized by creativity\nand innovation. He made his name in part by creating intricate and fully\nfleshed out songs with violin, vocal, and whistle loops. It\u2019s a little bit\ndisappointing to see him go in the direction of typical and overdone indie.\nSongs like \u201cSisyphus\u201d, \u201cManifest\u201d, and \u201cBellevue Bridge Club\u201d exemplify this\nstyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not to say that these songs are bad or\nunenjoyable: there\u2019s still a lot of tender love and care put into these tracks,\nand both \u201cSisyphus\u201d and \u201cManifest\u201d have some of the best lyrics on the album.\nIt\u2019s easy to hear the ease with which Bird approaches melody–at this point,\nit\u2019s basically a second language for him. But you just might find yourself\nskipping these tracks after a couple of listens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFallorun\u201d is one of the highlights on the album: the\ndistorted violin adds a lot of atmosphere, and the driving drums and plucked\nmelody keep the song in a constant state of forward motion and give it an\nintense build that ebbs and flows. \u201cDon The Struggle\u201d is another one that\nbrings a great amount of energy and heart to the table along with a narrative\nlittle message about mistakes made by those who won\u2019t have to face the\nconsequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, My\nFinest Work Yet <\/em>doesn\u2019t exactly live up to its facetious title. Despite its\ninconsistency on a song to song basis, it does provide a cohesive experience\noverall with some interesting themes to boot. Although it may not be the summit\nof Andrew Bird\u2019s career, it\u2019s a reflection of how difficult it is to\nencapsulate the struggles of the time we live in while packing a punch. Bird\neven brings this up: how do we fight a war with words without it bleeding out\ninto actual violence? Where\u2019s the line? <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s certainly not something that this album solves,\nbut at least it\u2019s a nice soundtrack to put on while you\u2019re pondering such heavy\ntopics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SCAD Radio gives this album a 7.25\/10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Andrew Bird has one of the most expansive discographies of any artist working today. The virtuosic violinist, whistler, singer, and songwriter almost can\u2019t stop creating music–whether it be an album covering the tunes of one of his biggest musical influences; albums recorded in various locations across the country, including a river and a canyon; or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":5099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,530,32],"tags":[330,712,713,714,576,104,129],"yoast_head":"\n