Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha

Andrew Bird’s latest album Armchair Apocrypha released in 2007 by Fat Possum Records cannot fit into one genre or category of music. Bird’s eclectic mix of styles and skills creates a sound that transcends typical genres of music, while simultaneously carving out a category just for himself. While his background and training is with the violin, Bird also skillfully utilizes the guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel, and whistling to create an intricate and sophisticated sound comparable to a one man orchestra.

Bird’s musical talent will keep your fingers snapping while it intertwines perfectly with his intellectually witty lyrics that cover everything from modern science to the fragility of life. Lyrics like "your what happens when two substances collide, and by all accounts you really should have died" for me takes his knowledge of modern science and mends it into an expression of fate, not a reference to drug addiction as many critics have claimed.

Bird’s textured sound and mysterious lyrics offer new meaning with each spin of the record. His skillfully intricate sound combined with unsurpassed word play and a voice that rivals the likes of Thom York, gives Bird’s music a depth that cannot be held by any category or style.