Andrew Bird - Noble Beast & Useless Creatures (2009)

Between Noble Beast and Useless Creatures, Andrew Bird is releasing nearly 2 hours of new music to kick off 2009. Not too surprisingly, Bird delivers excellence again with catchy & easy to listen to string ensambles, mellow vocals and carefree whistling throughout Noble Beast. Nothing crazy or cutting edge here, but consistent creative quality that both soothes and entertains—a stellar follow-up to Bird's captivating 2007 release Armchair Apocrypha. Useless Creatures, the accompanying "bonus EP," is all instrumental strangeness, albeit interesting and surprisingly listenable, that plays like the soundtrack to an artistic indie film. They may not be useless, but they certainly are odd creatures. All in all a must listen for this early year, and another feather in the cap of this extremely talented and creative multi-instrumentalist.

Grab a listen to: "Not a Robot, But a Ghost," "Fitz & Dizzyspells," and "Anonanimal" (especially after the jazzy snare drum interlude).