Noble Beast | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 20, 2009 | |||
Genre | Baroque pop | |||
Length | 54:17 | |||
Label |
Fat Possum (US) Bella Union (UK) | |||
Andrew Bird chronology | ||||
|
Noble Beast is the fifth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, and his eighth overall. It was 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.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 79/100 [3] |
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] |
The album received a Metacritic score of 79 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. [3]
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 12, and No. 3 on the Top Rock Albums Albums chart, [16] selling 26,000 copies in the first week. [17] The album has sold 150,000 copies in the United States as of December 2011 [update]. [18]
All tracks are written by Andrew Bird, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | 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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "Section 8 City" ( iTunes only bonus track) | 7:41 |
16. | "10-you-us" ( iTunes pre-order only bonus track) | |
17. | "Take Courage" ( eMusic only bonus track) | 6:51 |
The limited edition of Noble Beast shipped with a companion disc of instrumental songs, entitled Useless Creatures. [19] This collection was made available on Bird's website in early January, before the album's release. Noble Beast / Useless Creatures was deleted after a single 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 |
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Flanders) [20] | 77 |
French Albums ( SNEP) [21] | 62 |
Dutch Albums ( Album Top 100) [22] | 64 |
US Billboard 200 [23] | 12 |
US Digital Albums ( Billboard) [24] | 2 |
US Independent Albums ( Billboard) [25] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums ( Billboard) [26] | 3 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums ( Billboard) [27] | 2 |
Noble Beast | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 20, 2009 | |||
Genre | Baroque pop | |||
Length | 54:17 | |||
Label |
Fat Possum (US) Bella Union (UK) | |||
Andrew Bird chronology | ||||
|
Noble Beast is the fifth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, and his eighth overall. It was 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.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 79/100 [3] |
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] |
The album received a Metacritic score of 79 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. [3]
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 12, and No. 3 on the Top Rock Albums Albums chart, [16] selling 26,000 copies in the first week. [17] The album has sold 150,000 copies in the United States as of December 2011 [update]. [18]
All tracks are written by Andrew Bird, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | 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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "Section 8 City" ( iTunes only bonus track) | 7:41 |
16. | "10-you-us" ( iTunes pre-order only bonus track) | |
17. | "Take Courage" ( eMusic only bonus track) | 6:51 |
The limited edition of Noble Beast shipped with a companion disc of instrumental songs, entitled Useless Creatures. [19] This collection was made available on Bird's website in early January, before the album's release. Noble Beast / Useless Creatures was deleted after a single 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 |
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Flanders) [20] | 77 |
French Albums ( SNEP) [21] | 62 |
Dutch Albums ( Album Top 100) [22] | 64 |
US Billboard 200 [23] | 12 |
US Digital Albums ( Billboard) [24] | 2 |
US Independent Albums ( Billboard) [25] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums ( Billboard) [26] | 3 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums ( Billboard) [27] | 2 |