It's not often that a talent like Andrew Bird comes along and sweeps me off my feet. Now, I don't normally go for the singer-songwriter thing because I'm typically more inclined towards instrumental music or genres where the lyrics aren't that important. For me, the best songwriters can be summed up by Bob, Tom, Johnny, Leonard, Bruce, and Vic (Dylan, Waits, Cash, Cohen, Springsteen, and Chesnutt). Perhaps I'm a bit reductionist, but I haven't heard much in the ways of newer writers that tops the old vanguard. Enter Andrew Bird: a Chicago songwriter/violinist that blends jazz, Gypsy, folk, and rock elements into his distinctive style. Believe it or not, he's been at it since 1996 and Break It Yourself is his twelth album!

Recorded mostly live at his studio barn in Western Illinois, Bird, drummer/percussionist Martin Dosh, and guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker have crafted a sunny, unpredictable set of tunes that reflects the pastoral Mississippi river valley that birthed them. Meandering and soulful, the album relies on the usual pizzicato loops, orchestral flourishes, and oddball subject matter that's preoccupied Bird since 2003's Weather Systems, but for the first time since his Bowl of Fire days, it feels less like a one-man band. This album really struck me with its sense of honesty, urgency, and the sensation that I was listening to someone playing for me in their living room. I tend to be cynical of overly lyrical songwriters, but in the case of Bird I am beaten by his integrity--his panache cannot be feigned.

Listen to Lazy Projector, with it's lush strings, here:



Watch a performance from 2009 here:



Buy your copy of Break It Yourself here.