As I wind down the last of the 2009 music reviews, I almost forgot Andrew Bird's Noble Beast.
As an axillary member of The Squirrel Nut Zippers, this singer/songwriter prog folkie makes the kind of swirling pop that you might hear with bands like The Thrills or perhaps even Midlake. His sound also hearkens back to old early 70's prog folk such as The Incredible String Band.
This album is flush with strings as he is a violin-player by trade. And being from Chicago, he did not forget to use the wonderful harmonizing pipes of fellow Chicago luminary Kelly Hogan. The songs are all good and very breezy, mixing everything from swing-jazz to gypsy music to easy folk tunes. But this is primarily an indie pop affair informed by singer/songwriter flair.
Lastly and most oddly this album is on Mississippi based Fat Possum Records. It is a label that I associate primarily with Mississippi Hill Country Blues. None of that on this great record though.
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