CD Review: Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha

In the din of hype surrounding the new albums by Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, and the forthcoming Wilco and Bright Eyes, you might miss the quiet genius of Andrew Bird's new release, Armchair Apocrypha. But after spending a few weeks with the album, which hits stores today, I'm already willing to say it's likely to end up on my year-end best list.

The hippest thing ever to happen to the pizzicato violin, Andrew Bird is just as adept at crafting string-laden pop songs as he is writing rhymes so sing-song, it takes you a moment to hear the words. In his definition of pop music — and the extremely catchy folk-inspired tunes are undoubtedly pop — plink-plunks of strings and winds combine with twisty, turning electric guitars for melodies that carry you right to the edge of chaos, but not quite. For more details and to hear one of the album's best tracks, read more

Whether he's chronicling stolen moments or engaging in cheeky wordplay, Bird always manages to floor me with his lyrics. It might be a sliver of brilliance, as on the album's standout track, "Heretics": "You're making mountains of handkerchiefs / where the mascara always runs." But most often, Bird is offering veritable prose poems set to song. On the arresting ballad "Armchairs," he idly sings "I dreamed you were a cosmonaut / of the space between our chairs / and I was a cartographer / of the tangles in your hair" before jolting us into an aggressive chorus. Not matter how he engineers his collisions between words and melody, I manage to hear something new almost every time I listen.

You can hear live versions of several songs performed by Bird at SXSW, or to hear "Heretics," just hit "play" below.