Over his past few albums, Bird has developed a finesse for off-kilter pop that takes mortality, confusion, and unexpected realizations as its subject, shaping them all into songs that are catchier, by their own terms, than most of Top 40 radio. They cast a reflection of the world around us that's simultaneously beautiful, unsettling, and oddly familiar.  Full text...

This is an intellectual jaunt that reveals the beauty of pop music, both musically and lyrically. By being subtle, Bird ejects haunting questions into his melodies, calling to arms debates about the state of the world, and the state of ourselves. We need more classical music like this in our lives anyways.  Full text...

Andrew Bird’s latest, Armchair Apocrypha, suggests a fairly specific setting for me, inspired perhaps in equal parts by my own childhood nostalgia and scenes from several movies. I can think of no better time or place to listen to the majestic, seven-minute centerpiece “Armchairs” than a Sunday, lying on the floor in a warm parallelogram created by beams of afternoon light, contemplating every word and note, as it shifts through several phases rhythm, texture, and mood.  Full text...

For all its epic, wide-angle beauty and its specialized, careful amalgams of processed and natural sounds, Armchair Apocrypha cannot escape being juxtaposed against that album, which set the bar so high.  Full text...

Apocrypha is mostly a triumph.  Full text...

It’s true that Armchair Apocrypha does not have an answer for “Fake Palindromes,” but, it’s fair to assume that Bird will be chasing the ghost of that whimsical little scorcher for the rest of his career. He has moved incrementally from the claustrophobic jazz dive fare of Thrills (1998) to this denser and more fully realized song set.  Full text...

Sixth from Chicago’s Buckley-esque violin virtuoso.  Full text...

Intricately laced dream pop with sensible melodies but even better subtle countermelodies and inflections.  Full text...

Armchair Apocrypha is ultimately another object of strange and unique beauty from this inventive songwriter and performer.  Full text...

The album's songs might be apocryphal, but they're certainly relevant to what's happening in the world outside.  Full text...

On his seventh album, seemingly simple elements -- plucked violin, shuffling snare drums, chiming guitars, plinky piano, his spooky croon and magisterial whistle -- build into one heady, slippery whole. His lyrics mix the everyday and the catastrophic, lulling you into a false sense of security.  Full text...

Although Bird certainly isn’t breaking new ground in terms of his overall sound since his last album, he has still put out another solid record chock-full of witty lyricisms and lilting melodies that do a wonderful job of showing off his oh-so-smooth voice.  Full text...