Bird, Andrew / Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of...
Album: Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of...   Collection:General
Artist:Bird, Andrew   Added:Feb 2015
Label:Wegawam Music Co.  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2015-02-06 Pull Date: 2015-04-10
Week Ending: Apr 5 Mar 22 Mar 15 Mar 8 Mar 1 Feb 22 Feb 15
Airplays: 1 1 1 1 3 2 2

Recent Airplay
1. Apr 03, 2015: Time Traveler
My Sister's Tiny Hand
4. Mar 06, 2015: Time Traveler
Tin Foiled
2. Mar 19, 2015: Mountain Music
Tin Foiled
5. Feb 27, 2015: Time Traveler
Tin Foiled
3. Mar 13, 2015: Time Traveler (Friday the 13th)
Tin Foiled
6. Feb 26, 2015: Meow
Cathedral In The Dell

Album Review
Matthew
Reviewed 2015-02-05
Indie rock / Folk / Alt-country-western. Millionth release from Andrew Bird. All tracks are covers of songs by The Handsome Family. The internet was mixed, but I like it, Bird basically took country-western songs and re-framed them with a cerebral music school prep voice. The beginnings of some songs are a little weak, or maybe unconvincing/not confident, but get much better and more fluid once they develop. Sadly, it is whistle sparse. He has a solo on track 9 and a bar or two on track 1. FCC clean. Play 2, 10, 1, 5. RIYL: Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine, The Handsome Family.

1. (3:59) Cathedral in the Dell. ** Pretty vocals and acoustic country western vibe. Not exceptional, but I like it, it’s a new direction for Andrew Bird.
2. (3:26) Tin Foiled. *** Upbeat and sparse. Upright base and violin played like a mandolin. Really beautiful. I love this song.
3. (3:31) Giant of Illinois. ** Picked acoustic guitar intro. Great production quality. Pretty song.
4. (3:31) So Much Wine, Merry Christmas. * Heavy double bass and lazy trudging strumming pattern. Pretty solo.
5. (3:43) My Sister’s Tiny Hand. ** Pretty violin and acoustic guitar accompaniment. Great folk song.
6. (3:29) The Sad Milkman. * Great production. Pretty vocals. Weird lyrics. Becomes John Prine-esque at ¾ of the way through.
7. (3:21) Don’t Be Scared. Pretty and mellow intro. Lazy strumming with beautiful vocals and again, great production. Weird blend of indie soft rock and country.
8. (2:44) Frogs Singing. * Violin intro. Somewhat standard folk, but has fairly complex instrumentals.
9. (3:01) Drunk By Noon. * Country western. Sounds pretty good. His voice is beautiful. Oh yeah, whistle solo.
10. (4:46) Far From Any Road (Be My Hand). *** Pretty and different. Imagine Bird writing a country track for Armchair Apocrypha.


Track Listing
1. Cathedral In The Dell   6. The Sad Milkman
2. Tin Foiled   7. Don't Be Scared
3. Giant Of Illinois   8. Frogs Singing
4. So Much Wine, Merry Christmas   9. Drunk By Noon
5. My Sister's Tiny Hand   10. Far From Any Road (Be My Hand)