| Outside Problems | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 21, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | During the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| Studio | Outdoors in Ojai, California | |||
| Length | 42:25 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Loma Vista | |||
| Producer | Andrew Bird | |||
| Andrew Bird chronology | ||||
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Outside Problems is a 2023 studio album by American indie rock musician Andrew Bird, released on Loma Vista Recordings. The album has received positive reviews from critics.
At The Arts Fuse , Alex Szeptycki stated that Bird has "a knack for coming up with pleasing hooks in what is an entirely instrumental album" and characterized this release as "an assemblage of sketches and experiments" that is "a joy to listen to". [1] Kiana Doyle of the Associated Press recommended that listeners compare this to 2022's Inside Problems and ended her review stating that "musical improvisation can be a tricky art form, but Bird makes it sound easy, making this album a real treat". [2] Editors at Pitchfork Media scored this release 6.9 out of 10 and critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "despite its spare instrumentation, Outside Problems never feels skeletal or small" and he characterized it as closing a chapter in Bird's career, calling it "definitionally a footnote, a collection of sketches and explorations that will fascinate listeners who have followed Bird for years". [3]
All songs written by Andrew Bird, except where noted.
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Gish is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 28, 1991, by Caroline Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan, with the latter describing Gish as a "very spiritual album" and "an album about spiritual ascension".
Slowcore, also known as sadcore, is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by subdued tempos with typically minimalist instrumentation alongside solemn and melancholic lyrical performances.
Starless and Bible Black is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in March 1974 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It carries over most of the same lineup which appeared on the preceding album, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, with only percussionist Jamie Muir not returning, and is the band's final album with violinist David Cross. In order to more faithfully capture the band's live energy, much of the material on this album was tracked in concert and edited together with studio recordings. The album includes multiple fully improvised pieces, alongside "Fracture", one of King Crimson's most challenging pieces to perform.
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Andrew Wegman Bird is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music, indie rock, and folk music. He is primarily known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. In the 1990s, he sang and played violin in several jazz ensembles, including Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six. He went on to start his own swing ensemble, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which released three albums between 1998 and 2001. Weather Systems (2003) was his first solo album after Bowl of Fire disbandment, and it marked a departure from jazz music into indie music. Bird's 2019 album My Finest Work Yet was nominated for "Best Folk Album" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Live-Evil is an album of both live and studio recordings by the American jazz musician Miles Davis. Parts of the album featured music from Davis' concert at the Cellar Door in 1970, which producer Teo Macero subsequently edited and pieced together in the studio. They were performed as lengthy, dense jams in the jazz-rock style, while the studio recordings consisted mostly of renditions of Hermeto Pascoal compositions. The album was originally released on November 17, 1971.
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Yellow Bird Project is a company that collaborates with indie bands to raise money for charity, primarily through the sale of T-shirts. They approach indie bands, asking them to choose a charity and submit an original design. Each design is then printed onto T-shirts and sold exclusively through the YBP website to raise money for the charity of the artist's choosing. Some of the bands which they have collaborated with include Andrew Bird, Bloc Party, Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene, Devendra Banhart, and The National. Over the years, the company has diversified to include book publishing, album releases and film projects.
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Fuse is the eleventh studio album by British duo Everything but the Girl, released on 21 April 2023 through Buzzin' Fly and Virgin Records. It is their first studio album in almost 24 years following Temperamental (1999). The album was preceded by the single "Nothing Left to Lose" on 10 January 2023, followed by "Caution to the Wind", "Run a Red Light", and "No One Knows We're Dancing", in February, March, and April respectively.
Blue Raspberry is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Kirby, released on January 26, 2024. The album is Kirby's first for Anti-, explores lyrical themes of romantic exploration, and has received positive reviews from critics.
Blu Wav is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy. Released on February 16, 2024, through Dangerbird Records, it marks their first album in nearly six years since Last Place, as well as their first since the death of bassist Kevin Garcia. The album's title is a portmanteau of the genres bluegrass and new wave. It has been preceded by the singles "Watercooler" and "Cabin in My Mind".
