Spirit Freed

Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast

Most works of western tonal music are characterized by the regular recurrence of rhythmically patterned pulses. Andrew Bird's eccentric cross-pollination of gypsy ballad violin and folk infused art-rock is defined by it. The importance of meter and repetition is clear on Noble Beast , even thematically, as whistled motifs emerge in defiant contrast to already established themes. Noble Beast is Bird’s fourth solo album and it made its debut this past January as a live stream on NPR....