His early work, which echoed gypsy jazz and traditional folk, has led into his current sound, which mixes rock with more broad compositions. His years of solo song-craft have now enabled him to produce a sound that is uniquely his own.
Trained by the Suzuki method from a young age and a graduate of Illinois' Northwestern University, Bird released his first solo album, Music of Hair, in 1996. Vastly different from his later releases, this first album showcases his violin skills and pays tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues.
His initial commercial exposure was in collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He was quickly lumped in with the swing craze that swept the United States music industry in the mid '90s; this is an affiliation that he is still working to shed.
Taking on the role of band leader in 1997 with Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, he released the album Thrills. This was followed by Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument.
In 2001, Bird released The Swimming Hour, his third release with the Bowl of Fire and a dramatic departure from previous recordings. The Swimming Hour featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs. He has often referred to this record as his "jukebox album".
The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded some time in 2003, having featured many skilled Chicago musicians including Kevin O'Donnell, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins (aka Mr. Rudy Day), Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn and Ryan Hembrey.
Bird then released two subsequent solo albums, both distributed through the label operated by Ani DiFranco, Righteous Babe Records. The two records, 2003's Weather Systems and 2005's The Mysterious Production of Eggs, continue a progression towards an eclectic indie folk sound that has proven challenging to classify.
Bird's live solo shows have been notable in that he uses a multi-track system to sample and loop his own performance. For example, he may record a snippet of his performance on violin, then play a "loop" of that sound. This provides a more full-bodied sound and aurally suggests a band performance, rather than the sound of a solo artist.
Bird's next full-length album Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum) was released on March 20th 2007.
November 2007 saw the Soldier On EP originally a European tour-only release. But due to high demand and unanticipated critical acclaim was released digitally and in CD-format on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics and fans alike have hearkened to the EP's first track, "The Trees Were Mistaken", a complex yet austere looping composition that marks a departure from Bird's earlier body of work. It also contains a cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister".
January 2009 saw Noble Beast, also available with instrumental album Useless Creatures, released worldwide to positive reviews.
The Fatal Shore Songfacts reports that Break it Yourself, Bird's sixth solo studio album, was released on March 6, 2012 through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. The origins of the LP lie in a couple of jam sessions by a gathering of Bird's friends in the singer's western Illinois barn, near the banks of the Mississippi River.
Of his 2019 album My Finest Work Yet, Talia Schlanger of NPR says "Bird zooms way out on humanity across history's timeline, seeking insight about our current age, in a way he hopes 'stays above the news feed noise.'" Many tracks, including the opener "Sisyphus," include Andrew's trademark whistling.
Headsoak
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A position fell over me
The harmony wall bleeding
The restless child was reading
I was swimming
Could hardly stand
And the fishes they were feeding
The lambs they were bleating
I walk slowly
When I walk away from you
I'm feeling bad
I'm looking bad
I feel and look so bad
Some might say
Yours truly is soaking his head
There's apprehension
And inhibition
All contributions
To my attrition
And it happened long ago
These things these things
That make me walk so darn slow
The lyrics to Andrew Bird's song Headsoak seem to convey a sense of being overwhelmed and weighed down by life's struggles. The opening lines "I was walking with my feet, a position fell over me" suggest a sudden sense of feeling suffocated and stuck. The "harmony wall bleeding" and "restless child reading" also add to this feeling of disorientation and chaos.
The next few lines "I was swimming, could hardly stand, the swimming hour was at hand, and the fishes they were feeding, the lambs they were bleating" bring to mind a struggle to keep up with the pace of life and feeling like just staying afloat requires enormous effort. The imagery of the fishes feeding and the lambs bleating perhaps signifies the mundanity of life and the constant reminders of other's needs and existence which can sometimes feel like an added burden.
The chorus "I walk slowly when I walk away from you, I'm feeling bad, I'm looking bad, I feel and look so bad, some might say yours truly is soaking his head" suggests a sense of loneliness and maybe even regret for pushing someone away. The refrain "there's apprehension and inhibition, all contributions to my attrition, and it happened long ago, these things, these things, that make me walk so darn slow" seems to suggest that these feelings have been present for a long time and are perhaps a combination of past experiences and current struggles that weigh heavily on the singer.
Overall, the song Headsoak is a poignant reflection on the struggles of life and the burden of carrying emotional baggage. The lyrics convey a deep sense of angst and disorientation, but also a glimmer of hope that things may change for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walking with my feet
I was physically moving forward by taking steps with my feet
A position fell over me
I was suddenly overcome with a particular mood or emotion
The harmony wall bleeding
The atmosphere around me was tense and unstable
The restless child was reading
There was a sense of unease or restlessness in the air
I was swimming
I was in the act of floating or moving through water
Could hardly stand
I was struggling to maintain my balance or stay upright
The swimming hour was at hand
It was the time of day when swimming typically occurs
And the fishes they were feeding
The fish were actively consuming food or other materials in their environment
The lambs they were bleating
The young sheep were producing loud, high-pitched sounds
I walk slowly
I move at a leisurely pace
When I walk away from you
When I leave someone or something behind me
I'm feeling bad
I am experiencing negative emotions or feelings
I'm looking bad
My appearance is not desirable or healthy
I feel and look so bad
Both my emotional and physical states are negative
Some might say
It is possible that someone holds the opinion that
Yours truly is soaking his head
I am engaging in self-soothing behaviors such as taking a bath or relaxing
There's apprehension
I feel uneasy or nervous
And inhibition
There is a sense of holding back or reluctance
All contributions
All factors or elements that are adding to the situation
To my attrition
To my gradual, natural wearing down over time
And it happened long ago
The thing or event being referred to occurred in the distant past
These things, these things
Various elements or experiences
That make me walk so darn slow
Factors that contribute to my slow, measured pace of movement
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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