Armchair Apocrypha

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Armchair Apocrypha
Armchair Apocrypha (Front Cover).png
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 20, 2007
Genre
Length48:27
Label Fat Possum
Producer Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird chronology
Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
(2005)
Armchair Apocrypha
(2007)
Soldier On
(2008)

Armchair Apocrypha is the fourth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird. It was released on March 20, 2007, through Fat Possum Records. The album features more electric guitars, a change from the more acoustic-oriented album Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs , though the songs are similar in character if slightly more straightforward.

Contents

Writing and composition

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 81/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The A.V. Club A− [4]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
NME 7/10 [8]
Pitchfork 7.7/10 [9]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]

The album has been given a Metacritic score of 81 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. [2]

The album debuted at number 76 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 11,000 copies in its first week. [13] The album had sold over 100,000 copies by November 2008. [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andrew Bird, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fiery Crash" 4:12
2."Imitosis" 4:01
3."Plasticities" 4:27
4."Heretics" 3:33
5."Armchairs" 7:02
6."Darkmatter" 5:07
7."Simple X"Bird, Martin Dosh 3:36
8."The Supine" 0:59
9."Cataracts" 3:12
10."Scythian Empires" 4:34
11."Spare-Ohs" 4:07
12."Yawny at the Apocalypse" 3:39
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Sic of Elephants" (iTunes-album-only bonus track)4:46
14."Self-Torture" (eMusic-only bonus track)3:38

Personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (2007)Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP) [15] 124
US Billboard 200 [16] 76
US Digital Albums (Billboard) [17] 9
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [18] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [19] 21
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [20] 10

References

  1. Bahn, Christopher (February 21, 2006). "Interview: Andrew Bird". The A.V. Club.
  2. 1 2 "Reviews for Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird". Metacritic . Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  3. McIntosh, Gregory. "Armchair Apocrypha – Andrew Bird". AllMusic . Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  4. Phipps, Keith (March 20, 2007). "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  5. Brunner, Rob (March 16, 2007). "Armchair Apocrypha". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  6. Clarke, Betty (April 13, 2007). "Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha". The Guardian . Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  7. "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". Mojo (162): 102. May 2007.
  8. Worthy, Stephen (April 27, 2007). "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". NME . Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  9. Tangari, Joe (March 23, 2007). "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  10. "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". Q (250): 125. May 2007.
  11. Swanson, David (March 20, 2007). "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  12. Young, Jon (March 2007). "Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha". Spin . 23 (3): 88. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  13. Katie Hasty, "Modest Mouse Steers Its 'Ship' To No. 1 Debut", Billboard.com, March 28, 2007.
  14. "Flying High". Billboard. November 15, 2008. p. 38.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha". Hung Medien.
  16. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  17. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Digital Albums)".[ dead link ] Billboard.
  18. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  19. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  20. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.