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Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)

After the success of Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird signed to Fat Possum Records to release Armchair Apocrypha in 2007. Co-collaborator Martin Dosh joined with Bird and adds percussion and keyboards to his sound, as well as Jeremy Ylvisaker who was added for bass and back up vocals. Haley Bonar also makes several appearances on back up vocals. Armchair Apocrypha reached number 76 on the Billboard charts giving Bird the most mainstream success he’s had, appearing for the first time on television for David Letterman.

Armchair Apocrypha is a more straight forward indie/alternative rock album than Bird’s previous work but it retains the similar layered sound as Mysterious Production. Though this is musically a less complex album, Bird’s lyrics are even more interesting and complicated. With his extensive vocabulary, he writes about themes such as science and the apocalypse, with such beauty and simplicity.

The album opens with Fiery Crash which Bird describes as a protection from plane crashes “a nod to mortality before you get on the plane” singing “to save our lives you have to envision a fiery crash”. He approaches Heretics and Plasticities with the same whimsical attitude. These songs are about themes such as embracing death and differing mentalities of society yet Bird portrays them with a child-like attitude, almost poking fun at them. These songs are probably the closest Andrew Bird will ever come to pop music.

Imitosis is one of the most popular tracks off the album and deservedly so. It is an expansion of “I” off of Weather Systems. This is a dark song about science and its downfalls. The lyrics are some of the most interesting Bird has wrote. What kind of rock singer writes lyrics like “Is just a case of mitosis / Sure fatal doses of malcontent through osmosis”. This is all put together into an accessible rock song with a dark riff on the keyboards and some great layering on the violin, with a slight influence from spanish music present.

Armchairs is a personal favorite of mine. It is an absolute masterpiece. Everyone is performing to perfection on this track. It starts out as a solemn ballad and builds its way up to a powerful coda. By the end of the song it’s hard to believe that only three men created such a full sound. Bird delivers emotional vocals with such ease; at times he is reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. The climax of the song is a brilliant harmony between the piano, guitar, Bird's vocals, and several loops of droning violin. Before the album was released the title had several variations such as “Apocalypse in an Armchair” and “Amrchairs of the Apocalypse”. The meaning of the song is cloudy, but I believe it can be interpreted to show the imminence of the apocalypse.

Martin Dosh’s talent adds some new textures to Bird’s music. This can be heard on Simple X which was composed solely by Dosh with an excellent percussion track that flows with Birds violin samples wonderfully. Scythian Empires is a perfect example of the type of layering that Bird is known for. There are so many stratums of instrument tracks to this song. At its height, there is a harmony between guitar arpeggios, electric keyboard, and piano with splashes of Bird’s pizzicato violin and electric guitar as well.

It is hard to say anything bad about Armchair Apocrypha. The only major problem I have with it is that it’s more accessible than Andrew Bird’s earlier music. Though it is more mainstream, Bird stays true to himself continuing his layered music, achieving his full sound that he has become known for. But I’m a sucker for music like his more ambient work on Weather Systems. Also, there is a bit of filler on this album which is rare for Bird, for example I could easily go on without pop/rock songs like Dark Matter and Heretics. Nevertheless this album is highly recommended especially for newcomers to Mr. Bird.

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