Bird’s forthcoming LP will be released on April 1st.
20 years since his debut LP — 1996’s self-released Music Of Hair — veteran songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird has announced a new album. Are You Serious will be released on April 1st via Loma Vista Recordings/Decca.
Andrew Bird has always been a respected artists; an industry favourite for many and an artist in every sense of the word. For 20 years he has kept his listeners captivate to his folk-rock rhythms and enchanting storytelling. Now, Bird looks to make an even deeper impression amongst his followers with his latest record.
Three years ago while travelling west to California to start a new life with his wife and young child they stopped at the family farm in rural Illinois for two weeks to catch their breath. The previous two years had been intense to say the least: raising a child in New York City as his wife battled a serious illness. With these dark days behind them he spent the next seven days on the front porch writing the lyrics for what became Are You Serious. The new record has been more than a project for Bird. Tipped to be one of the year’s breakthrough records, take nothing away from the pure intimacy that has been simmered into the album.
2015 was a year of massive US folk releases (look no further than that of Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear and Kurt Vile’s B’lieve I’m Goin Down), and Andrew Bird looks likely to continue the trend in 2016. With less wordplay and more intent, Bird has produced a really intimate album. Deeply personal and at times difficult to fathom, Are You Serious has the potential to be a masterpiece.
Listen to Bird’s conversation with NPR’s Bob Boilen on All Things Considered here.
‘Capsized’
‘Imitosis’