Andrew Bird: Noble Beast

Label: Fat Possum

Read enough about music and certain words begin to seem meaningless—such as “timeless.” But Andrew Bird’s music is just that, in the best possible sense. Eclectic yet unforced, this one-man music machine (if you’ve seen him play live you know what we mean) pushes pop-songcraft into the realm of art on his fourth solo album (not counting several made with his old band Bowl of Fire). Bird sings, whistles like no one else we can think of, plays violin and guitar, and even blogs for the Times (er, not on the album). It all comes back to his perfectly formed songs though: warm but not mushy, knowing but somehow humble, and just plain catchy as hell. Guests include alt-country queen Kelly Hogan and the band Loney, Dear, but Bird really doesn’t need anyone’s help. Highly recommended, if you couldn’t tell.