Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself (CD)

Andrew Bird is one of those fellers who, despite my encyclopedic knowledge of the great and the good of rock music, I have never knowingly heard a single note by.  I've played the first few tunes whilst simultaneously eating my morning banana and although it seems to veer all over the place in terms of style if you are skimming this review quickly if I say loudly the name SUFJAN STEVENS then you know roughly which ball park he's in. The opening tune is a delight, starring lovely plucked and strummed violin, scattershot drums  and Bird's keening voice which sounds remarkably similar to James Mercer of The Shins fame. This guy really is quite the violin virtuoso and his playing is just super throughout.  The next main track (there are several snippets between the songs) is a country lilt which sits somewhere between Bonnie Prince Billy and The Shins finishing with a jig-along style outro which although technically brilliant is just a little too 'Riverdance' for my tastes. Worry not,  as we quickly get back into Sufjan territory in the introduction to the excellent 'Give it Way' which seems to be heading off into baroque string laden almost Michael Nyman like territory before emerging as a lovely country-ish lilt. And if this all sounds a bit 'nice' and 'safe' for you 'EyeoneEye' toughens things up  with some noisier guitars sounding not unlike The New Pornographers. Its intricate, complex stuff,  Bird is never quite satisfied with a simple melody & therein lies the reason why he probably won't ever hit paydirt. Despite lacking the lyrical dexterity and emotional pull of the likes of Sufjan, its still wonderfully accomplished stuff that will need a lot more than one cursory listen to do its thing.