Noble Beast

Noble Beast
Studio album by Andrew Bird
Released January 20, 2009
Genre Baroque pop
Length 54:17
Label Fat Possum, Bella Union Records
Andrew Bird chronology

Soldier On EP
(2007)		 Noble Beast
(2009)		 Break it Yourself
(2012)

Noble Beast is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fifth solo studio album released on January 20, 2009.[1] Two songs from this album were previewed on his webpage, "Oh No" and "Carrion Suite", while the entire album was made available by NPR[2] as a streaming feed. Noble Beast was made available as a standard CD release, a special limited-edition deluxe two-CD package and a double-LP package.

The track "Tenuousness" appears in the closing credits for the 2011 movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andrew Bird, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Oh No"   4:20
2. "Masterswarm"   6:35
3. "Fitz and the Dizzyspells"   3:36
4. "Effigy"   5:06
5. "Tenuousness"   3:51
6. "Nomenclature"   2:54
7. "Ouo"   0:20
8. "Not a Robot, but a Ghost" (Bird, Martin Dosh) 5:37
9. "Unfolding Fans" (Bird, Jeremy Ylvisaker) 0:57
10. "Anonanimal"   4:47
11. "Natural Disaster"   4:18
12. "The Privateers"   3:24
13. "Souverian"   7:18
14. "On Ho!"   1:08

Personnel

Deluxe edition bonus disc

Deluxe Edition album art, to be used for Noble Beast/Useless Creatures 2 CD set

The limited edition of Noble Beast shipped with a companion disc of instrumental songs, entitled Useless Creatures.[3] This collection was made available on Bird's website in early January, before the album's release. Noble Beast / Useless Creatures was deleted after one initial run, both in the US and the UK, exclusively.

No. Title Length
1. "Master Sigh"   2:17
2. "You Woke Me Up!"   7:24
3. "Nyatiti"   4:01
4. "The Barn Tapes"   10:12
5. "Carrion Suite"   9:39
6. "Spinney"   0:45
7. "Dissent"   3:54
8. "Hot Math"   7:18
9. "Sigh Master"   5:32
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 79
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
The A.V. Club (B+)[5]
Drowned in Sound (9/10)[6]
The Guardian [7]
LA Times [8]
Paste (6.7/10)[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes [10]
Pitchfork Media (7.5/10)[11]
Rolling Stone [12]
The Skinny [13]
Spin (7/10)[14]
Uncut [15]

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 12
U.S. Billboard Rock Albums 3
U.S. Billboard Digital Albums 54
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums 1

References

  1. ↑ Paul Thompson, "Andrew Bird to Unleash Noble Beast on New Album", pitchforkmedia.com, October 3, 2008.
  2. ↑ Exclusive First Listen: Andrew Bird's 'Noble Beast'
  3. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/andrew-bird/41319
  4. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1468944/review
  5. ↑ http://www.avclub.com/articles/andrew-bird-noble-beast,23075/
  6. ↑ Skinner, James (2009-02-02). "Andrew Bird - Noble Beast". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ Costa, Maddy (30 January 2009). "Andrew Bird - Noble Beast". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Pop & Hiss". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/01/andrew-bird-noble-beast.html
  10. ↑ http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/andrew-bird-noble-beast
  11. ↑ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/148544-andrew-bird-noble-beast/
  12. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/25461863/review/25523856/noble_beast
  13. ↑ http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/44596-andrew-bird-noble-beast
  14. ↑ http://www.spin.com/reviews/andrew-bird-noble-beast-fat-possum
  15. ↑ http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/andrew_bird/reviews/12702