Bird-Brains
Bird-Brains (stylized as BiRd-BrAiNs[1]) is the debut album by American lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus' project Tune-Yards. It was originally released as a Compact Cassette[2] on Marriage Records on June 9, 2009, and was re-released on August 17 by 4AD as a limited-edition pressing. It was released worldwide on November 16, 2009, with two bonus tracks.
Bird-Brains | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 9, 2009 | |||
Genre | Lo-fi | |||
Length | 53:49 | |||
Label | ||||
Tune-Yards chronology | ||||
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The album was recorded almost exclusively by Garbus on a hand recorder and mixed with a shareware assembling program.[1] Speaking to Charlotte Richardson Andrews of The Guardian, she noted her instrumental limitations and how they led to a dependence on percussion: "I had no bass – literally, I didn't own one – so the drums had to be big."[3]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[4] |
Metacritic | 79/100[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Drowned in Sound | 8/10[7] |
The Guardian | [8] |
The Irish Times | [9] |
MusicOMH | [10] |
MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A[11] |
Pitchfork | 6.8/10[1] |
PopMatters | 7/10[12] |
Pitchfork ranked Bird-Brains at number 44 on their list of the top 50 albums of 2009.[13]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Merrill Garbus.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "For You" | 1:50 |
2. | "Sunlight" | 3:47 |
3. | "Lions" | 4:59 |
4. | "Hatari" | 5:39 |
5. | "News" | 3:24 |
6. | "Jamaican" | 3:54 |
7. | "Jumping Jack" | 3:54 |
8. | "Little Tiger" | 4:59 |
9. | "Safety" | 4:37 |
10. | "Fiya" | 5:28 |
11. | "Synonynonym" | 3:50 |
12. | "Want Me To" (bonus track) | 4:24 |
13. | "Real Live Flesh" (bonus track) | 3:33 |
- The vinyl edition does not include the track "Synonynonym" and instead ends with "Fiya".
References
- Richardson, Mark (April 3, 2009). "tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- Sean and Matt (August 25, 2010). "Inside The Jukebox: Tune-Yards Q&A". The Wounded Jukebox. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (April 7, 2011). "Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus on life after lo-fi". The Guardian. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- "BiRd-BrAiNs by tUnE-YaRdS reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- "Reviews for BiRd-BrAiNs by tUnE-yArDs". Metacritic. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- Phares, Heather. "Bird-Brains – tUnE-yArDs". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- Ashurst, Hari (November 17, 2009). "Album Review: Tune-Yards – BiRd-BrAiNs". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- Hann, Michael (November 13, 2009). "tUnE-YaRDs: BiRd-BrAiNs (4AD)". The Guardian.
- Carroll, Jim (October 16, 2009). "Tune-yards: Bird-Brains (4AD)". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- Clarke, Jude (November 16, 2009). "tUnE-yArDs – BiRd-BrAiNs". MusicOMH. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (December 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- Fairell, Jer (August 20, 2009). "tUnE-YaRdS: BiRd-BrAiNs". PopMatters. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Tune-Yards at 4AD
- Bird-Brains at AllMusic