#ANDREW BIRD BELL WITCH FULL#

#ANDREW BIRD BELL WITCH FULL#

There are occasional veers towards a bluesy or gospel sound but it is Bird’s achingly gorgeous fiddle playing that always leaves the most lasting impression.īird also picks that fiddle to great effect and, while the album is full of high-class examples of this it is ‘ Three White Horses and a Golden Chain’ that tries to poke its beautiful head above the rest. Kate’s station as local lore grew beyond even her own attested power. The legend of the Bell Witch began with the torment of a family, but grew into a statewide fervor of interest. There is often an old-time country feel to many of the songs which is probably unsurprising given the simple guitar/fiddle combination that they have brought to the album. It is said that the eventual President Andrew Jackson paid a visit to the farm, witnessing Kate’s power himself. Taking turns to lead, their vocals are never anything less than mesmeric and affecting and, when they come together, the resulting harmony is a lovely thing to behold. The Bell Witch or Bell Witch Haunting is a legend from Southern United States folklore, centered on the 19th-century Bell family of northwest Robertson. Collaboration on the writing came easy to the pair and that is also evident in the way their voices blend together on the album. At its heart this is a sparse sounding folk record covering, in Mathus’s own words “ mythology, the human heart in conflict with itself, madness, rural things, urban things”.Īll songs are co-written by Mathus and Bird. Andrew Bird and Squirrel Nut Zippers’ Jimbo Mathus have announced a new collaborative album. Now, years down the line, ‘ These Thirteen’ sees these old friends coming together again to record their first album as a duo. Bird meets Mathus at a Zippers gig, hands Mathus a demo tape and ends up playing with the band for a few years before embarking on a solo career. Andrew Bird, a classically trained violinist fresh out of music school and seemingly headed for an orchestral career. Swing jazz revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, including founder member Jimbo Mathus, are looking for a fiddler. While one could argue this means they should try harder, there is something to be said about a relaxing, effortless release as well.Old friends collaborate to great effect and produce a high-class slice of folk-based americana. While it’s far from remarkable, These 13 benefits from the fact that it knows it’s a tossed-off side project from two artists with little to prove. They have the feeling of established folk staples rather than new material, which is a good fit for the instrumentation. The opener, “Poor Lost Souls,” could easily come across as a condescending view of those left behind by Hollywood, almost like a bad charity single, yet it’s delivered with such earnestness and quaint detail that it works. A lot of the songs feel more like fables or parables, especially “Dig Up the Hatchet” and its tale of forgiveness. Then again, the bare-bones structure lets some otherwise insufferable lyrics slide through without much hassle. As previously stated, the overall aesthetic is agreeable, but there comes the point when it is a little too barren. The same goes for some of the background vocals songs like “Jack O’ Diamonds” could have benefitted from a more interesting vocal melody or harmonies, especially so late into the album to break up the monotony. It wouldn’t be an Andrew Bird record without his trademark violin, and the solos are perfectly placed on “Bell Witch” and “Encircle My Love.” It would have been nice to hear more instrumental layers the piano on “Bell Witch” provides delicate flutters, yet the only other noticeable use of keyboards is on the throwaway interlude “Bright Sunny South” and its one-minute of sustained accordion and organ. Every pluck is felt, and there are a lot of plucks across the album, from finger-picking to faster strumming. The production is delicate without feeling washed out or gutless. While the two shine on their own, the final song, “Three White Horses and a Golden Chain,” brings them together as Mathus provides lead while Bird howls in the background and provides impossibly gorgeous whistling.

Similarly, Mathus drops the outlaw smolder of Blue Healer for a more world-weary figure, a perfect fit for the tortured misery of “High John” with its sharp violins dominating the song when they’re normally saved for a killer solo on other songs. These are some of his most compelling vocal performances in a while: the openings of “Beat Still My Heart” and “Burn the Honky Tonk” are chilling as his baritone is allowed to expand throughout the mix, capturing the quiet thoughtfulness of the best Jason Isbell song.

Bird’s has gotten more conceptual and dense in recent years, yet The se 13 proves he can still deliver sweet morsels of charming acoustic parable. At a time when many of the biggest names in folk are going for electronic flourishes or heavy distortion, it is refreshing to hear something more restrained and thus more charming.

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