Categories : Folk + Roots, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 Reviewer: Garth Paulson |
It’s hard to criticize a songwriter like Andrew Bird, who has carved out a successful niche for himself by indulging his idiosyncrasies at every turn instead of tucking them away as is usually the case. Characters like Bird, who attain critical acclaim and success by promoting their oddball tendencies, provide feel good stories in a music world that too often demonizes individuality. Unfortunately for Bird, none of his charming quirks, $50 dollar words, history dork outs or world-class whistling skills are enough to make Noble Beast memorable.
On Beast, Bird sounds far too comfortable. Though his ear for an affecting melody and his premium wordplay remain in full force, many songs feel like he’s working from an Andrew Bird paint-by-numbers kit. A little whistling here. A pleasantly plucked violin there. A few tongue twisters in the chorus. A hint of eastern folk music in the bridge. Done. On to the next one. It’s a pity, but all of the things that made Bird so loveable and unique on past albums have become familiar and predictable on Noble Beast and Bird himself seems content to coast along without ever pushing himself.
That’s not to say that the album doesn’t have its moments. Bird is far too accomplished a songwriter to come up with 14 straight duds. ‘Effigy’ succeeds largely due to it’s simplicity as Bird lets little more than his rich voice, an acoustic guitar and his clever lyrics carry the song. ‘Nomenclature’ surprisingly erupts halfway through, adding a little bit of danger to the typical Bird proceedings. ‘Anonanimal’ contains one of Bird’s best off-kilter hooks when he brings the clattering percussion and soaring strings down to sing “Hold on just a second / Don’t tell me this one / You know I know this one / I know this song / I love this one / I love this song.â€
The problem with Noble Beast is these moments are surrounded by too many songs like ‘Souverain,’ which wanders around for over seven minutes before it realizes it’s hopelessly lost, or ‘Natural Disaster,’ which almost sounds like Bird is engaging in self-parody. Again, it feels a little dirty to criticize Bird when the music world could use more artists like him who wave their unique little snowflake flag proudly, but Noble Beast proves that even the most idiosyncratic, esoteric songwriters are just as susceptible to complacency as anyone else.
