 Weather Systems (2003)
Following a busy year or two on the road, Andrew Bird retreated to a remote valley in Western Illinois near the Mississippi, converted an old barn into a studio, and got down to work recording Weather Systems, his forthcoming CD. The result is a delicate and atmospheric collection of songs that were set to tape with producer / engineer Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Will Oldham).
The songs unfold within an expanded palette of sounds including whistling, glockenspiel, wurlitzer, and tape loops. Bowl of Fire band members Kevin O’Donnell and Nora O’Connor appear on the recording. The disc also contains an 8-minute “film trailer” of a documentary about Bird by director Robert Trondson. Weather Systems was released by Grimsey Records April 1, 2003, and re-released on a wider scale on June 10, 2003 by Righteous Babe Records.
It was released throughout Europe on Fargo Records in February 2004 with the extra track “Sovay.”
The lyrics for this album can be found here.
1. First Song
2. I
3. Lull
4. Action / Adventure
5. -->
6. Skin
7. Weather Systems
8. Don’t Be Scared
9. <--
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“Beck meets Itzhak Perlman.”
- USA Today |
“Music for the ages that demands to be heard.”
- Pitchfork |
“Mr. Bird is a classically trained violinist who also dips into Gypsy music, jazz, Brazilian sounds and the blues. The ingenuity of the music was outshone by the winsome intelligence of the songs.”
- New York Times |
“Bird uses whistling, loops and spare instrumentation to create an atmospheric, multilayered sound that’s melodic and rhythmic but also moody and delicate. Elegant, demanding and moving.”
- Q Magazine |
“Anew, supple-fresh language of strings, glockenspiel, Wurlitzer and tape loops. Densely textured [and] outstanding.”
- Uncut |
“[Bird’s] introspective and witty wordplay drifts over mellow tunes that are spacious and detailed, full of texture and intricate melodies, yet also beautifully simple, rooted in his innate skill for crafting a damn good song.”
- Los Angeles Times |
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