American Andrew Bird is a singer/songwriter cemented firmly in the tradition of simple storytelling and observation. His voice is gentle and fluid, his primary instrument is the violin, but he also possesses the skill to enhance his songs with other instrumental sounds (notably percussion). NOBLE BIRD is his fourth album and the first time I have heard him. I discovered from the Internet that his reputation for studio and live music in the USA is peerless.

‘Oh No’ serves as an intro to this 14 track album. It’s a charming, simple song with a voice that smoothly glides along with the occasional whistling passage, hand claps, stripped-back instrumental arrangement and fragile multi-layered vocals. ‘Masterswarm’ sees Bird adopt a higher vocal key to open this beauty. It picks up pace with his violin taking centre stage as it winds around his voice like a buzzing bee. There’s a Latin beat as his story unfolds, aided by the most subtle percussive sounds and vocal harmonies. The ending is interesting as he seems to leave a percussive sound playing as he walks away from the mic… ‘Fitz And The Dizzy Spells’ goes upbeat, with plucked strings darting around, more whistles and hand claps. The song starts to wind up towards its conclusion with a more exhuberant guitar strum and female backing vocal adding to the crescendo of sound. It’s a beauty. ‘Effigy’ is a standout with its opening orchestral curtain-raiser which gives away to reveal a lonely acoustic guitar and another wonderful multi-layered vocal. I’m reminded of Simon & Garfunkel here. Violin then enters briefly to welcome the vocal’s return. Bird’s lyrics are up there with the best while his melodies are engaging.

‘Nomenclature’ is a prime example of how he can use his voice and instruments to create a compelling and adventurous musical ambience. On this occasion one can add ‘epic’ to this song’s vibe… ‘Ouo’ takes another adventurous sonic turn with percussive notes grabbed it, seems from anything lying around. ‘Not A Robot, But A Ghost’ has the most eerie instrumental and vocal intro before Bird’s violin enetrs to signal a meandering and more conventional sound. ‘Unfolding Fans’ provides a brief mystical-sounding interlude before ‘Anonanimal’ appears to baffle one with its changing pace and sound, one moment dull and the next as bright as a button. ‘Natural Disaster’ is beautiful in its acoustic simplicity and gradually unfolding storyline. ‘The Privateers’ opens with the request “Please don’t sell me anything…” as plucked violin strings and muffled percussion take’s one on another melodic and interesting musical journey. ‘Souverian’ opens with the retro sound of the glockenspeil before it takes a more conventional and flowing folk route. ‘On Ho’ concludes the album with a short, mellow mix of strings and accordian.

Bird has produced a beautiful, understated album enhanced by subtle instrumental arrangements that augment without over-complicating. It’s both clever and accomplished. I’ll be featuring a couple of track on our next radio show, but as I listened I kept changing my mind as to which tracks I should play. It says something about the quality and consistency of the material here. Strongly recommended.

4/5