Released January 20th on Fat Possum Records
Andrew Bird was brought up in the Suzuki method of music learning from the age of four. This method basically involves two things: learning music by ear, and learning an instrument (typically the violin) in small steps at a young age. Bird also attended Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s in violin performance. Not only is he known for his mastery of the violin, but also instruments like guitar, mandolin and glockenspiel, as well as his ability to whistle and use of live looping.
He has released a number of solo albums, as well as having performed with a backing band called Bowl of Fire, and working with a number of other bands and artists like the Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Verve Pipe, My Morning Jacket, Charlie Louvin and Ani DiFranco, among many others.
His most recent effort, Noble Beast, is his best-received work to date, earning rave reviews from critics everywhere, including Rolling Stone, Paste, Spin, Pitchfork and the L.A. Times. I’m not putting this album on my “Best of 2009″ list because everyone else is putting it on theirs (and it will land near the top of everyone’s list for “Album of the Year”; I’m putting it on mine because it truly is a masterpiece. I’d hate to give away what my Top 10 list will include for albums of the year, but you can bet this album will be on that list. I just won’t tell you what spot I’m giving it.
If you’re not familiar with Andrew Bird, please give the track below a listen (as well as the entire album, which you can sample on websites like NPR and Amazon.com). I hope you love this album as much as I do, and urge you to take a look into getting one of the best albums of the year. Enjoy my favorite track from the disc below!
Other Artists I’d Recommend: The Decemberists, M. Ward, Sufjan Stevens