Mixed Emotions

Andrew Bird-Noble Beast

Why is everyone panning this album? What were you expecting this to sound like, the second coming of Led Zeppelin? Did you actually listen to Armchair Apocrypha? That was not a mainstream pop record, and despite selling 100,000 copies, I'm unclear why everyone expects Noble Beast to sound like the soundtrack to a McDonald's commercial. Armchairs was a seven minute song without a chorus! He wrote a song about his favorite ancient civilization! And it was good! Dorky, but good! So temper your fucking expectations.

I read in Andrew Bird's blog on New York Times (yeah...I know) that he was afraid because everything sounded a little too good to him on this album, and maybe came to him too easily. I can hear a bit of that. There's not a lot of dissonance here, and at times he gets carried away/drifts off. Masterswarm tends to warble on too long without any real climax or conclusion. Souverian starts great, but rambles on a few minutes more than I would have liked. And even the best tracks don't quite have the bite of Heretics, Dark Matter, or Imitosis.

By my count there are three standout tracks on here (Oh No, Fitz and the Dizzyspells, and Not a Robot but a Ghost), and another handful of very good ones (Natural Disaster, Anonanimal, and Effigy). Of course, the tough thing is that despite this not being his best album, it's still better than most of the dreck out there. For the record, here's how I'd rank his post-Bowl of Fire albums:

1. Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
2. Armchair Apocrypha
3a. The Swimming Hour
3b. Noble Beast
5. Weather Systems


So now you know where to start. And for those already fans, just enjoy the album.