By Alex Schaaf

In light of Andrew Bird’s tremendous 2-night stand in Milwaukee last week, I thought it was time to shed light on one of the year’s most underappreciated albums. No, not Noble Beast, as good as that is. One of the year’s best albums is not even a proper album at all (even Wikipedia barely acknowledges it), but is a “bonus” collection entitled Useless Creatures that came on the tail end of Noble Beast. Comprised of nine instrumental tracks, Useless Creatures is a fantastic display of Bird’s otherworldly talents at creating intoxicating sound textures and melodies.

Bird himself has said, “I’m really an instrumentalist who sings words, and if you care to pay attention you might enjoy them.” Enjoy them as we may, on this album Bird drops the words in favor of elaborate instrumental suites, self-invented instruments and intriguing experiments in sound.

Bird admitted that this is his “indulgent” record, and I say, it’s been a long time coming. If anyone should be allowed to indulge, I think the man has deserved it. His studio output over the past few years has been excellent, but lately it’s been very pop-focused, eschewing long instrumental passages for tighter, melodic, structured works. But Useless Creatures takes his occasional indulgence and stretches it into 45 glorious minutes. Ranking highest on the “indulgent” scale is the hypnotic “Barn Tapes,” which Bird created by recording hours of violin loops in his rural barn, and then using the mixing board as a new instrument to mix and mold the loops, creating this 10-minute long ambient composition.

Going from the more classical “Carrion Suite” (which also features Wilco’s Glenn Kotche on drums) to the contented vocal layers of “Master Sigh” to the upbeat and exotic “Nyatiti,” the album spans multiple styles, showcasing, in Bird’s own words, “homeless melodies, polyrhythmic pizzicato, Debussy-like, minimalistic string passages thrown from a rotating speaker, and lots of really inventive percussion.”

“You Woke Me Up,” which was brought out during his solo set at the Pabst Theater last Saturday night as a new, “lyricized” song called “Wake Up,” is one of the album’s many highlights, starting with his trademark building up of pizzicato layers before delving into vibraphone melodies and grooving bass lines.

All in all, this album showcases Andrew Bird as one of the most inventive and versatile artists of our time. Past songs like “Oh No” and “Skin Is, My” showcase his talents at creating perfect little pop gems that will reach a broader audience, while experiments like Useless Creatures show an even deeper, more innovative side that appeals to lovers of sound everywhere.

Andrew Bird has scheduled additional dates to close out 2009, including three nights 4th Presbyterian Church. These unique solo shows focus “mainly on instrumental violin pieces” and will “eschew a typical P.A. for these performances, instead utilizing more of his signature giant horns to amplify his violin playing.”

MP3: Andrew Bird – “Nyatiti”
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Buy: Andrew Bird – Noble Beast / Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)