Worth buying twice.
5
By RockTheProject
When Andrew Bird releases a new album, I preorder it both on iTunes and a physical copy, and it’s always worth it, ensuring that I get to listen to is as soon as possible, wherever I happen to be.
You’ll recognize bits and pieces here, mostly off his latest studio release, Are You Serious, but the melodies are stripped down and darker, ditching their playful coat they once wore, showing a different side of the compositions; that’s not to say, however, that this is old material. Most of the record is new to our ears, seasoned with slivers of songs we’ve previously fallen in love with (The Cormorants shares a common theme with Shoulder Mountain)
When Echolocations: Canyon, the first installment/masterpiece in the Echolocations series came to an end, we parted ways with Bird while he trekked cave, stream, and canyon in search of the perfect resonance in nature. With River, we find Andrew once more ankle deep in water, though this time under Hyperion Bridge over one of Los Angeles’ many tributaries to the Pacific Ocean. The tracks here are more cohesive as songs, instead of experimental fragments strung together to determine what resonates best against sun-baked stone and sand, and they don’t tend to sprawl as much as the previous offerings. Canyon spanned across 7 tracks for over 50 minutes, while River covers 8 in just 41 minutes, so these pieces are more concise and to the point. I could always take more of Bird’s wandering fingers, but this will be a far more accessible record for someone new to Andrew Bird’s experimental side.
Although lauded as a collection of field recordings, River has quickly flowed into my top 5 Andrew Bird records, and is one that I’m happy to ride over crooks and craggy cliffs to the ocean.
