In the energetic haze, Bird sings “But dissonance is energy while consonance reminds you of poverty” - another critique of the suffocation of the cookie-cutter lifestyle. Then someone slams on the breaks, and the energy dive-bombs back into the somber march. The tempo drastically increases, like a car speeding up. Later the song breaks out into a sudden burst of vibrancy. Bird sings “Let’s settle down / We’re all just stumbling down,” echoing a sense of bone-deep exhaustion - but instead of physical weariness, the implication points again to the burden of greater expectations. The song starts slow, to a steady, weary march. Later in the album, “Don the Struggle” provides a stylistic breath of fresh air. However, in his song Andrew Bird seems to speak from the mind of Sisyphus - the condemned - calling to “Let it roll, let it crash down.” In a sense, the song speaks to the futility of living a life within borders and expectations, of taking control of your own fate. The myth was meant to warn others from folly of trying to cheat the natural order. As eternal punishment Sisyphus was charged with carrying a boulder up a hill, never to succeed in this maddening task. Songs like “Sisyphus” recall haunting echoes of antiquity, harkening back to the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphus, a sly trickster who cheated death twice. The many layers of his songs are hidden within unique lyrics and non-traditional song structure. With his trademark orchestration of heavy bass and light-footed violin, Bird’s masterful songwriting is center-stage. And that “more” is where the true power of the album arises. It is all those things, but also much, much more. Again, that’s not to say Andrew Bird’s music is not catchy, or that it isn’t suited for a lazy, sunny day.
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