25-03-2019, 18:50
ANDREW BIRD ~ My Finest Work Yet
![[Image: image.jpg?c=96dCwQf2Sm4SNVHjhyULNSpQg_7i...xGXts=&f=5]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=96dCwQf2Sm4SNVHjhyULNSpQg_7iAU1wjqLgK_xGXts=&f=5)
False modesty is certainly not one of Mr Bird’s faults, lol! One can most certainly depend on him for great strings and this release is no exception – they are lovely as is his finely-honed whistling. His voice is clear, both in register and in enunciation and his lyrics are clever, as always. The album moves along at a smart pace and is engaging, tackling some fairly weighty philosophical questions about the duality of human nature in more of a pop guise than any other format. Maybe alt-pop??
My Finest Work Yet is a helluva statement to make (despite the disclaimer) and given the nature of the cover art, hopefully not the end of it all! Looks a bit like an epitaph of sorts – a marble memorial – all a bit art deco and dramatic – presumably tongue in cheek!! I was reminded of a painting of the 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton – a precociously talented young man who basically burnt himself out at 17 years of age. Nobody else seems to be drawing this comparison so I expect I could be barking up the totally wrong tree!
![[Image: 300px-Henry_Wallis_-_Chatterton_-_Google...roject.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Henry_Wallis_-_Chatterton_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/300px-Henry_Wallis_-_Chatterton_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
There’s really nothing not to like – it’s an absolutely listenable album and I'll probably give it another hearing, but I preferred his previous instrumental album Echolocations: River – personal taste I guess – I found it much more inventive and magical.
This is the lead track ...
False modesty is certainly not one of Mr Bird’s faults, lol! One can most certainly depend on him for great strings and this release is no exception – they are lovely as is his finely-honed whistling. His voice is clear, both in register and in enunciation and his lyrics are clever, as always. The album moves along at a smart pace and is engaging, tackling some fairly weighty philosophical questions about the duality of human nature in more of a pop guise than any other format. Maybe alt-pop??
My Finest Work Yet is a helluva statement to make (despite the disclaimer) and given the nature of the cover art, hopefully not the end of it all! Looks a bit like an epitaph of sorts – a marble memorial – all a bit art deco and dramatic – presumably tongue in cheek!! I was reminded of a painting of the 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton – a precociously talented young man who basically burnt himself out at 17 years of age. Nobody else seems to be drawing this comparison so I expect I could be barking up the totally wrong tree!
There’s really nothing not to like – it’s an absolutely listenable album and I'll probably give it another hearing, but I preferred his previous instrumental album Echolocations: River – personal taste I guess – I found it much more inventive and magical.
This is the lead track ...
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
