Andrew Bird

My Finest Work Yet

This album is less a niche corner of the folk genre and more an illustrious banner for all to appreciate.

Blending themes of politics and modern science into his fashion of storytelling, My Finest Work Yet is a true tour de force.

Bird isn't afraid of melodrama or broad gestures, yet his emotional force is carefully focused and purposeful in these sessions, and this work speaks to the heart as well as the intellect.

The title may well have been chosen ironically, but this is indeed his finest work yet – whatever your stance on whistling may be.

It’s a piece of masterful craftsmanship tucked snugly into the singer-songwriter tradition, filled with country-soul ballads and grungy laments driven by jangly guitars, family band harmonies, rumbling pianos and cinematic string passages that should appeal broadly to fans of the genre without alienating his own die-hards.

After a string of releases that sometimes felt like hearing Bird think himself in circles, the singer-songwriter relaxes into his most plainly and darkly funny album in a long time.

My Finest Work Yet is a strong collection of music buoyed by Bird’s mastery as a musician, recognizable whistling melodies, and , thoughtful lyrics.

Bird's vulnerability has been switched out for a fighting spirit, a steeliness and resolve that powers the whole record.

My Finest Work Yet is his first proper record since 2016’s Are You Serious and finds Bird as charming as always, but a tad lost.