"Get out your measuring cups / and we'll play a new game."
There is nothing overblown about Andrew Bird's music. No excess, just exactly what is needed, each song peppered with the right amounts of musical accompaniment; a tremor here, a scratch of the guitar there. A pop of percussion, a bending of the bow. It's like Vanderslice without the self-consciousness, The Decemberists without the pageantry, folk without the frilly feel-good nonsense.
"Come to the front of the class / and we'll measure your brain"
What I like about this album: All of the songs are fully realized; so often I hear something and while I can appreciate what the artist did with it, I'll often wonder, well, what if they had done this or that a little differently, how would that sound?
"We'll give you a complex / and we'll give it a name."
This is not world-changing music, it won't kick your ass, but if you like a little of it you'll like it all. That doesn't mean it's the same song 14 times, just that Bird delivers on his vision consistently and has the knack for creating an aural space that sweeps you into his mind for a few moments.
Original album artwork by Jay Ryan; check the 2005 gallery.
Rating: full house.
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