Track Review
“Anonanimal” 9/10
By now, Andrew Bird’s gift for songwriting is no longer questionable or a doubt. Despite him being an artist popularly known for his “novelty” skills (whistling, violin, glockenspiel, looping pedals, etc), he has been clearly in an increasing level of maturity and comfort in craft, and “Anonanimal” is perhaps his most recent and clear cut example of it. One of the best tracks off the excellent “Noble Beast”, Anonanimal shows an incredibly focused and creative Bird, displaying one of his most intricate melodies ever, with the verse vocals varying between quick, rapid-fire staccatos and long, elongated notes and exploding into an emotional and epic chorus, with Bird passionately belting epically fitting lyrics such as “I will become this Animal.”
Despite the string section being without a doubt the track’s strength, Martin Dosh does an excellent job with the equally as beautifully complex percussion part of the track, delivering the strength, and subtleness, necessary to transform Bird’s track from simply a great song into one of the most memorable tracks of his career.
Obs: For those interested, Pitchfork’s cemetery gates version of Bird’s “Anonanimal” is tear-jerkingly beautiful, check it out.
