Andrew Bird always finds a way to approach familiar musical territory with innovation. Bird creates unique, yet catchy music that blends classical, jazz, rock and folk, breaking the shackles of category.
On his new album, Break it Yourself, the music is more direct than Bird’s previous albums, trading echo-soaked electric guitars and looping violin effects for acoustic instruments and harmonies.
If not for Bird’s signature whistling and violin plucking, many of the songs on the album would sound like a different artist. “Danse Caribe” starts as a slow, swaying country ballad that quickly shifts into an outro that merges Latin rhythms with foot-stomping Irish folk music, showcasing Bird’s talent as a violinist. “Lusitania” uses a simple chord progression played on acoustic guitars backing Bird’s and Annie Clark’s harmonies.
The songs put Bird’s vocals at the forefront, unlike his other work where he takes a background role to his instrumental expertise. Given Bird’s tone and gentle delivery, it’s a refreshing change.
On the opening track “Desperation Breeds…,” Bird sings about “thieves who keep stealing respiration from the tenderest of trees.”
“No one can break your heart, so you break it yourself,” he croons in “Eyeoneye,” a My Morning Jacket-esque rock song.
On Bird’s previous albums, he sang about everything from “single cells who would swing their fists” to “Greek Cypriots and harbor-sorts who hang around the ports a lot,” burying the song meanings in whimsical abstraction.
But on Break it Yourself, Bird abandons the metaphors and sings lyrics as direct as the music itself.
Break it Yourself, like the rest of Bird’s work, does not need to be categorized.
It will please the fans of his eclectic, experimental musicianship as well as fans of uncomplicated, straightforward, acoustic music.
