Break It Yourself

Break It Yourself
Studio album by Andrew Bird
Released	March 5, 2012
Genre	Indie rock baroque pop
Length	60:20
Label	Mom + Pop (US) Bella Union (UK)
Producer	Andrew Bird, David Boucher
Andrew Bird chronology
Fingerlings 4 (2010) Break It Yourself (2012) Hands of Glory (2012)
Singles from Break it Yourself
"Eyeoneye"

Break It Yourself is the sixth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, released on March 5, 2012, through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. ^[1] The track "Lusitania" features a duet with St. Vincent. ^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100 [3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	(A-) [5]
The Guardian	[6]
Pitchfork	(7.5/10) [7]
PopMatters	(5/10) [8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Beats Per Minute	(79%) [10]

The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic, the album has received an average review score of 80/100, based on 33 reviews. ^[3]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 10, which is Bird's first top 10 entry in the chart, selling 30,000 copies in the first week. ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Desperation Breeds..."		5:30
2.	"Polynation"		0:45
3.	"Danse Caribe"		5:19
4.	"Give It Away"		4:31
5.	"Eyeoneye"		4:07
6.	"Lazy Projector"		4:59
7.	"Near Death Experience Experience"		4:29
8.	"Behind the Barn"		1:04
9.	"Lusitania"	Bird, Annie Clark	4:04
10.	"Orpheo Looks Back"		4:55
11.	"Sifters"	Bird, Sharon Lanza	4:13
12.	"Fatal Shore"		5:06
13.	"Hole in the Ocean Floor"		8:18
14.	"Belles"		3:00

Other appearances

• Instrumental versions of "Danse Caribe" and "Eyeoneye" appear on Fingerlings 4. They are titled "Danse Carribe" and "Oh Baltimore" respectively
• A slower version of "Orpheo Looks Back" (called "Orpheo") appears on Hands of Glory

Personnel

Band

• Andrew Bird – violin, guitar, vocals, whistling
• Martin Dosh – drums
• Jeremy Ylvisaker – guitar, keyboards, background vocals
• Mike Lewis – bass, tenor saxophone, background vocals

Additional musicians

• J. T. Bates – drums on "Danse Caribe"
• Annie Clark (St. Vincent) – vocals on "Lusitania", courtesy of 4AD
• Nora O'Connor - vocal harmonies on "Give It Away", "Lazy Projector", "Near Death Experience Experience", "Fatal Shore"
• Simone White – vocal harmony on "Desperation Breeds"
• Wendy Lewis – cooking, moral support

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12]	84
French Albums (SNEP) [13]	137
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14]	79
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [15]	63
UK Albums (OCC) [16]	100
US Billboard 200 [17]	10
US Folk Albums (Billboard) [18]	1
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [19]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [20]	3
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [21]	3
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) [22]	2

References

1. "Andrew Bird". Bellaunion.com.
2. "Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself". Pitchfork .
3. "Break It Yourself - Andrew Bird". Metacritic.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
4. Monger, James Christopher. "Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
5. "Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself". The A.V. Club . March 7, 2012.
6. Maddy Costa (March 1, 2012). "Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself-Review". The Guardian . London.
7. Joe Tangari. "Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself". Pitchfork .
8. ^[ dead link ‍]
9. Jon Dolan (March 6, 2012). "Break It Yourself – Album Review". Rolling Stone .
10. Ray Finlayson (March 6, 2012). "Break It Yourself – Album Review". Beatsperminute.com.
11. Grein, Paul (March 14, 2012). "Week Ending March 11, 2012. Albums: Bruce And Elvis". Chart Watch. Yahoo!.
12. "Ultratop.be – Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
13. "Lescharts.com – Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself". Hung Medien.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
15. "Spanishcharts.com – Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself". Hung Medien.
16. "Andrew Bird | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
17. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
18. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
19. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
20. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
21. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
22. "Andrew Bird Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard.