He Soars

Andrew Bird is one of the most interesting musicians I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live. He played a show at Loyola Chicago last year opening for (gag) Guster and blew my mind with his live act. Bird layers loops of violin plucking with guitar strumming, whistling, traditional violin playing, and vocals. He put on easily the most fantastic one man show I've yet seen. I was so impressed that I made sure to catch his Friday morning set at Bonnaroo last summer. In the sweltering Tennessee heat Bird delivered another scorchingly original and entertaining set. At 'Roo he was accompanied by a drummer who brought the live set up another impressive notch.

A few days ago Bird's new album Armchair Apocrypha, which is slated to be released on March 20th, leaked. I snatched up the leaked album with full intent to buy one come March. The album is very impressive and surpasses the critically acclaimed Mysterious Production of Eggs by a ton. Electric guitars bring Bird's songs to life more than ever. The vocal harmonies are still perfectly executed. The whistling has only gotten better. I've posted two tracks from the album. "Heretics" is a very catchy affair with its "Thank God it's fatal, thank God it's fatal" chorus sure to cause some singing along at future Andrew Bird shows. "Spare-Ohs" is a more low-key affair which begins with the songs of -- well -- real birds before giving way to some of the most beautiful whistling Andrew has done yet.

Give these a listen and if you like what you hear please buy Armchair Apocrypha at your local record store on March 20th.

Andrew Bird - Heretics

Andrew Bird - Spare-Ohs

A Return To Posting

It's been a long time comin' ...

But I've finally decided to start updating my MP3 blog here again. I will be using the same format as before; I'll post some tracks, I'll talk about those tracks, You (beloved readers) will listen to those tracks and decide for yourself.

Today I've got three songs that everyone should listen to for three very different reasons.

The first is Stars' "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead", a shimmering piece of Canadian drama-pop from 2004's album of the same name. This track has shown up on an especially dramatic episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation if that gives you any idea of its theatrical power. My interpretation of the song is simply two people meeting up years after having engaged in a one night stand with each other. The male vocalist (Torquil Campbell, also a member of Broken Social Scene) tells the ex-lover "All of that time you thought I was sad I was trying to remember your name." The female vocalist (Amy Millan, her solo album is fantastic, and she also plays in Broken Social Scene) retorts with "I'll write you a postcard I'll send you the news from the house down the road from real love." Both singers bittersweetly agree that they aren't "sorry it's over" or that "there is nothing to save". A stunningly gorgeous song.

Next up is one of the few leaked tracks from the upcoming Bright Eyes EP Four Winds. The EP includes the song "Four Winds" which is the first single from the band's upcoming album (Cassadaga, which has an April 9th release date). Also on the EP are 5 songs that didn't make it onto the full length, one of which is the happy sounding "Reinvent the Wheel". My guess is that this song was a little too glossy to fit in with the apocalypse themes that run rampant on Cassadaga. This tune is a pretty straightforward indie rock piece with the sort of summery aesthetic that one would expect from The Format or the lighter tunes in Ash's discography. You'll also notice how much of a far departure this track is from the days of Fevers and Mirrors or even Digital Ash, Conor warbles exactly zero times on this song. Oh, what the hell is up with the fadeout effect at the end of this song? Has Mike Mogis been listening to the Goo Goo Dolls lately or something?

The final track I'm posting for you all today is The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy". The rags to riches anthem from 1994 is a good reminder of several things: the beat can put you into a great mood during these dreary gray winter days and remind you of how sweet life really can be; Biggie's rise from nothing to king of New York is a reminder of how important simply holdin' on and not giving up in this world can be -- remember that this track was included on the same album as the depressing "Suicidal Thoughts" the two songs allow for a strong juxtaposition; it's a reminder of how much better Puff Daddy/Diddy sounded in the background of a track rather than as an "MC"; it's a reminder of how friggin' amazing Biggie was when he got on the mic. Bump this and bump it hard.

Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Bright Eyes - Reinvent the Wheel

The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy