yermom Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Huh, really? It falls short of Eggs for me (but that is one of my all time favortite albums so I don't expect him to EVER match that), but I think it's much better than Armchair. Armchair felt like it was written on the fly while playing with his looper. This one feels like "real" compositions (for lack of a better description).Yup, really! I adore Armchair from beginning to end. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Yup, really! I adore Armchair from beginning to end.Oh don't get me wrong, I love Armchair too. I just think Noble Beast is better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 You're crazy! I'm betting Noble Beast will grow on me the more I listen to it. It usually goes that way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gobias Industries Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Er...can I get a PM? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 You're crazy! I'm betting Noble Beast will grow on me the more I listen to it. It usually goes that way. i'm with you... as amazing as Eggs was (my #1 of 2005), he topped it (barely) with Armchairs... granted that only made my #3 of 2007 thanks to Bon Iver & The National Moe... honestly, Andrew doesn't usually use a looping pedal on his record, fwiw. Most of the loops on Armchairs are Dosh. i think for me my small issues w/ Noble Beast so far are the lack of great/memorable hooks save for 3 songs. Anonanimal is really the only totally standout track for me, which might just show how consistently good the record is, idk. but yeah, i can't say the album is by any means inferior to Eggs or Armchairs, even if i still prefer those atm, just very different. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 i'm with you... as amazing as Eggs was (my #1 of 2005), he topped it (barely) with Armchairs... granted that only made my #3 of 2007 thanks to Bon Iver & The National Moe... honestly, Andrew doesn't really do loops on record, fwiw. Any of that you hear is all Dosh.Well it's not that he DOES loops, it's that the songs sound as if they were written more in his live style rather than the more fully-realized compositions of the Eggs (and now Nobel Beast). Armchairs' songs are, by and large, much less diverse (within each composition) and feel more like lyrics laid on repeating patterns rather than a more harmonically and structurally interesting (to my ears at least) approach taken on Eggs and Beast. But to each his (or her) own! FWIW, I feel this is obvious in the live setting. Even with the bass player, the Armchairs songs lend themselves the live style he has way more. The Eggs songs sound "off" live to me because he alters them to allow them to be played more simply for his live looping style. AND I prefer that Eggs studio brand of Bird more than the live style. And I find that Bon Iver album to be boring as hell, so there you go... different strokes! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 fair enough. this album feels like much more of a classical record with some pop music melodies laid over top, vs. the last few have felt like pop records at their heart with some classical influence. i will say that the 3 short instrumental interlude/tracks on here don't really do much for me, but thankfully they're all pretty short. edit: re: Bon Iver... 'tevs Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 this album feels like much more of a classical record with some pop music melodies laid over top, vs. the last few have felt like pop records at their heart with some classical influence.Yeah, I think that's what draws me to it. I would say if NB and AA are the extremes of the Bird classical/pop continuum, Eggs falls right in the middle. edit: re: Bon Iver... 'tevsHey, no offense intended. I know I am in the vast minority on that one. That's sort of my point. Who knows what makes what click for each individual. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bakerian08 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 i love me some Bird, but so far this album has left me feeling a little cold, with the exception with a few really standout songs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 It certainly hasn't hit me over the head yet like most of us here but I think it has all the components of being a grower as time goes on, lots and lots of layers to flesh through and seems like the tunes are there, just a bit hidden by that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chanman1128 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 ouo makes no sense and it pisses me off that it is a separate track. There is no way this is better than his previous two. ANonanimal is very good, standout track, but even the 'clever' play on words gets a little redundant. ANd the more I listen to it, the more I hate 'not a robot...'. It is like a bad radiohead song or something. Effigy is a great song. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyjimmy Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 The second half is really strong. Problem is since jumping on board with Andrew with MPOE and subsequently AA I've kinda gotten used to adoring the entire albums. "Nomenclature" just isn't doing it for me at all. Something about "Effigy" leaves me a little cold too. I do like"Not a robot but a ghost", love "Anonanimal' and happen to dig the interludes, especially "unfolding fans" Overall it feels a bit quieter. Seem to notice the acoustic/classical guitars a bit more. Dosh's drumming has a subtle complexity that seem to benefit overall from the mix. I like it...and I don't think I'd really have liked a repeat of either of the last two records better than this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 listening now for the first time. i haven't listened to armchair or mysterious in quite some time, i'll have to go back this week & listen. so far i'm liking the new one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I hope Fat Possum ships the new album with better packing than they did the other Andrew Bird CD I just got from them. That one was in two pieces when I took it out of the sleeve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I listen to Bird every day. The last three albums (including Soldier On) are in constant rotation. There is that element to his writing that is orchestral, operatic, even show tune-ish. This album delves pretty deeply into that. So while the instrumentation seems a bit more straight forward, the compositions seem much more layered. Noble Beast hasn't pop-hooked me quite as quickly, but I know it will be spun as much as those previous three. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
explodo Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Only a few songs in and not in prime listening conditions, but it sounds, so far, hookless and minimal. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm having a hard time paying attention. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KevinG Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Only a few songs in and not in prime listening conditions, but it sounds, so far, hookless and minimal. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm having a hard time paying attention. I totally agree with you. I am listening to right now, but at work. Over it is solid, a lot moodier then Eggs or AA. But it has a song about pirates, and that is always good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azzurri Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 i am a big fan of Andrew Bird and will buy the album when it comes out...in the meantime, can anyone help me out with a PM? It would be much appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chanman1128 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I feel like Privateers sounds extremely like a Coldplay song....even the way he sings it...just doesn't sound right. Overall this CD is a pretty big letdown for me. Besides Anonanimal and Effigy...there is not much here. Tenuousness (aka Flight of the Conchords B-Side track), Nomenclature, and Natural Disaster are pretty good, I just feel like they have all been done before. Don't really like Souverian...."if you join our chorus....here comes the chorus.." just kind of weird/lame. I like it more towards the end. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Wow I am surprised at all the negativity. I think this album is far richer than AA. With the exception of Armchairs and Simple X, I don't think there is much depth to that album. Don't get wrong I love Heretics, Imitosis, Plasticities and others, but they aren't as rich and don't have as much depth as my favorite Bird. This album has more of what I love about Bird. I'm wondering if people will appreciate it more once they have some time to live with it for a while. I agree that the depth comes at the expense of immediate accessibility. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chanman1128 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I hope something clicks...but I have listened to it a lot, pretty much none stop, and it just is not doing it for me so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 ba da ba bop ba.... I'm lovin' it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 But will you be listening to it one year from now? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 So out of curiosity, how do you all rank the studio AB albums? Mine would go thusly: 1. Mysterious Production of Eggs2. Noble Beast3. Armchair Apocrypha4. Swimming Hour5. Soldier On EP6. Weather Systems7. Oh! The Graandeur I don't have Music of Hair or Thrills. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gobias Industries Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Will someone hook a (and by "a" I mean "this") dude up with a PM of this record? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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