Are You Serious (Andrew Bird album)
Are You Serious is an album by Andrew Bird, released on April 1, 2016.[1] The album features collaborations with Fiona Apple and Blake Mills.[1]
Production
In a interview with Bob Boilen on All Songs Considered, Bird described how getting married had changed his writing style on this album:
"Knowing that you're going to be with someone for a long time definitely changes [the way you write], often because you're sitting in the same room with them as you're writing, and when you're sitting on the couch and you know it's not going to last, you might ... have to ... encrypt ... things. And when you don't have to do that anymore it might change your writing in that sense."[2]
Release
Are You Serious was announced on February 5, 2016, following an appearance on Conan in which Bird performed the single "Capsized."[1] A deluxe box set of the album will also include a 10" record called Are We Not Burning? The Devolution of Capsized 10", which features five additional tracks.[1]
Reception
Are You Serious received generally favourable reviews from music critics, with a score of 78 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.[3] NPR's Bob Boilen described Are You Serious as Bird's most personal album to date, writing that "Andrew Bird's lyrics are often a kind of cryptic code, wordplay about the human condition, but on Are You Serious he reveals more about his own life including a blossoming relationship between two relative introverts and the birth of their son."[2] NPR's Stephen Thompson wrote that, with this album, Bird's songwriting "keeps sounding warmer, sweeter, more thoughtful and approachable, while continuing to land lines that stick with you for days."[9] Philip Cosores, writing for The AV Club, gave the album a lukewarm review, describing it as a slight effort on which Bird "takes no musical risks."[5]
Track listing
Are You Serious
| 1. |
"Capsized" |
3:40 |
| 2. |
"Roma Fade" |
4:03 |
| 3. |
"Truth Lies Low" |
5:28 |
| 4. |
"Puma" |
3:31 |
| 5. |
"Chemical Switches" |
3:23 |
| 6. |
"Left Handed Kisses" (featuring Fiona Apple) |
3:14 |
| 7. |
"Are You Serious" |
3:39 |
| 8. |
"Saints Preservus" |
3:48 |
| 9. |
"The New Saint Jude" |
4:10 |
| 10. |
"Valleys of the Young" |
5:33 |
| 11. |
"Bellevue" |
2:02 |
Total length: |
42:31 |
| 12. |
"Shoulder Mountain" |
3:32 |
| 13. |
"Pulaski" |
4:02 |
Total length: |
50:05 |
Are We Not Burning? The Devolution of Capsized
| 1. |
"Trimmed and Burning" |
|
| 2. |
"Venetian Bedmaker" |
|
| 3. |
"Dying Beds" |
|
| 4. |
"Jackson Bedmaker" |
|
| 5. |
"Capsized – Sound City Version" |
|
Personnel
- Andrew Bird - vocals (1-11), violins (1-4, 6-11), whistling (2, 5, 8), guitar (3, 4, 6, 8, 10), omnichord (9)
- Blake Mills - guitar (1-11), pedal steel guitar (1), drums (2), mandolin (4), tiple (9), electric banjo (10)
- Ted Poor - drums (1-4, 6-11), percussion (1, 2, 4, 8), vibes (6), tubular bells (6)
- Alan Hampton - bass (1-4, 6-11), guitar (2, 4)
- Patrick Warren - keyboards (1, 2, 4, 7)
- Moses Sumney - vocals (1, 3)
- Bram Inscore - keyboards (2, 4, 9, 10)
- Fiona Apple - vocals (6)
- Tony Berg - guitar (8), keyboards (9)
Charts
References
- 1 2 3 4 Zoe Camp, Andrew Bird Announces New Album Are You Serious Featuring Fiona Apple, Shares "Capsized" Pitchfork, 5 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- 1 2 Bob Boilen (2016) "All Songs +1: Andrew Bird Gets Personal" All Songs Considered. 5 February, 2016. Retrieved 29 February, 2016
- 1 2 "Are You Serious - Andrew Bird". metacritic.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ↑ Monger, Timothy. "Andrew Bird: Are You Serious Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved April 8 2016.
- 1 2 Philip Cosores (2016) "Andrew Bird takes no musical risks on Are You Serious" The AV Club, 1 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ↑ Ally Carnwath (3 April 2016). "Andrew Bird: Are You Serious review – twinkle-toed and introspective". The Guardian (London).
- ↑ Stacey Anderson. "Andrew Bird: Are You Serious".
- ↑ Pryor Stroud. "Andrew Bird: Are You Serious".
- ↑ Stephen Thompson "First Listen: Andrew Bird, 'Are You Serious'" NPR Music, 24 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Andrew Bird – Are You Serious". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Andrew Bird – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Andrew Bird. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
.png)
[4]