der thread darf verschoben werden ….
vom guardian gibt’s die höchstwertung.
Andrew Bird: Noble Beast
by Maddy Costa(Bella Union) / 5 out of 5
It’s unlikely that Chicago multiinstrumentalist and whistling maestro Andrew Bird deliberately set out to mark the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth with his latest album. And yet, on some level, Noble Beast works as a celebration and a sorrowful evocation of the natural world as closely observed and sumptuously illustrated as any Victorian study. Bird and his 10 collaborators use sound the way the impressionists daubed paint, layering elegiac violin melodies with pattering plucked notes, fuzzy or jangly guitar, clip-clop percussion, clicks and drones to create music that might be straightforwardly folky, brightly poppy or more experimental, but is always vivid and engaging. Even more impressive is Bird’s ability to create singalong lyrics out of perplexing words chosen more for their texture than their meaning. From the „calcified arhythmetists“ of opening song Oh No, via the „Uralic syntaxes“ in Tenuousness, to the decaying „anthurium lacrimae“ of Natural Disaster, Bird creates an alternative vision of the universe as seductive as it is strange.
und NOW magazin is not impressed (2/5):
Disc Review
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast (Fat Possum)
By Tim PerlichTaking a tip from Madonna, Andrew Bird has apparently concluded that it’s better for your career longevity to follow trends than to lead them. So in keeping with the indie rock movement toward a softer and gentler approach, Bird has gone all precious and folky for Noble Beast, with daintily picked ditties that Sufjan Stevens might call quaint.
There are some sweet la-la-la bits and a bit of cheery whistling, but nothing jarring or abrasive which might prevent listeners from lapsing into a deep sleep by the sixth track. Operators of heavy machinery take note.
Top track: Not a Robot, But A Ghost
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Dirty, dirty feet from the concert in the grass / I wanted to believe that freedom there could last (Willy Mason)