Andrew Bird released a new album this week (yay) and announced his new tour (double yay). His album, Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of…, is not your typical album, dear nerds. It’s comprised entirely of by the folk duo, The Handsome Family, recently famous for their 2003 song, “Far From Any Road,” the True Detective theme song. Bird is famous for his one-man-band + a drummer format. He’s able to loop songs with ease, making you feel like you’re listening to a giant orchestra when it’s really just two dudes, having a good time, rockin’ out.
“Tin Foiled,” is available to stream and it’s the perfect dose of Andrew Bird we’ve all been waiting for. Bird and his band are calling themselves Andrew Bird & the Hands of Glory and will be traveling the country this summer.
What do you think of “Tin Foiled”? Let us know in the comments below. Got a suggestion for Track of the Day? Tell us in the comments or tweet Nerdist Music directly!
Goddamn, Andrew Bird is the most frustrating kind of musical genius. Even in a covers album, he brings out amazing twists and thematic coherence within his own oeuvre. Break It Yourself was full of this sense of nostalgia, or natural cycles, or returning to where you began, but changed. He throws in the ‘Fatal Shore’ metaphors of ‘Souverian’, casually drops ‘time’s a crooked bow’ in ‘Lazy Projector’ like it won’t send shivers down any fan of ‘Armchairs’.
So then here he is, putting out a covers album, and still can’t resist being a goddamn maestro. I mean, how great is hearing “Don’t Be Scared” again after all these years, just as beautiful, but slightly different? Or to hear the melody of ‘Three White Horses’ counterpointed in ‘So Much Wine, Merry Christmas’.
Sigh. I guess I’ll just go listen to the album again and remember I’ll never be as good as Andrew Bird.