Favorites of 2014: Number 4

4. Andrew Bird - Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of...

Take note all you Mumfords & Lumineers & others of that ilk, this is how you do a modern take on “old timey” music. Don’t get me wrong, I like those bands, but there is more emotion and depth of feeling on one of these songs than on some entire albums by those other guys. There’s an authenticity here that’s noticeably absent on a lot of revivalist folk albums. I’m sure that Marcus Mumford & Jeremiah Fraites have a deep affection for rootsy Americana, but it’s hard to revisit those albums and not hear them as imitators of a style rather than as practitioners of one. Maybe it’s the fact that Bird has such strong source material to work with (all the songs were originally written and recorded by the Handsome Family, though Bird has modified the arrangements). Maybe it’s the stripped-down production style (it feels more like a live album than a studio creation). Maybe Andrew Bird just understands Americana folk better. Or maybe he’s just more adept at using his voice to convey the yearning and heartbreak lying at the center of this music. Whatever it is, it works in spades.

That’s not to say, however, that this album is some kind of feel-good, foot-stompy revival-in-a-tent. A lot of these songs are dark, even pitch black in a couple instances, but they have such vivid imagery that they can’t help but jump to life. Bird has largely abandoned his trademark whimsy in the service of finding beauty and poignancy in this set of mini tragedies. That’s where Bird has a leg up over the Handsome Family’s recordings. Many of the original versions reach the point of pounding you over the head with bleakness. Bird, on the other hand, uses lilting harmonies and a soulful violin to create an atmosphere of mournful fragility. It’s an interesting take and Bird’s versions have an emotional impact that the originals don’t. I had this album slotted in at number 10, but with each subsequent listen, it moved higher and higher. I think that 4 seems like a good landing spot, and I suspect this will be a constant companion throughout the winter and spring.