New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Andrew Bird continues to prove why his brand new, debut holiday album HARK!is this year's "musical gift that keeps on giving" (The AV Club). In addition to releasing the physical edition of the LP - including a red vinyl version accompanied by 12 paper bird ornaments designed by his mother, Beth Bird - the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and Fargo actor has just shared a gorgeous music video for one of the record's original songs, "Night's Falling."
Watch "Night's Falling," created and animated by Katherine Freer and inspired by Beth Bird, whose HARK! artwork comes to life in a vivid scene of seasonal soul-searching: https://found.ee/AB_NightsFallingVideo
"Night's Falling" is the second stunningly animated video
Andrew Bird has released from HARK!, following the surreal silhouette-style piece that accompanied his wintry take on John Cale's "Andalucia." In an increasingly precarious time for festive music, songs like these have helped define HARK! as a "Christmas album for the rest of us" (Billboard), capturing the collective joy and melancholy of this socially-distanced season.
On the COVID-inspired "Christmas in April," which Andrew wrote and recorded during the pandemic's initial lockdown this spring, he "echoes our very same anxieties and fears as the global health crisis stretches into fall and winter" (Consequence of Sound). Elsewhere on the album he gives John Prine's "Souvenirs" a new sense of holiday spirit, delivers a laid-back "
White Christmas" from his couch, whistles through "Oh Holy Night," blends "
Greensleeves" with The Handsome Family's "So Much Wine" on "Greenwine," reinvigorates Vince Guaraldi classics with freewheeling jazz and fiddle arrangements, and pays tribute to his mom with a beautiful rendition of their favorite Christmastime Pavarotti piece, "Mille Cherubini in Coro."
Since 2009,
Andrew Bird has welcomed winter with "Gezelligheid": an annual series of hometown holiday concerts at Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church, concentrating mainly on instrumental violin pieces that he amplifies only by way of his signature spinning horns. On December 13th, he will reprise the event as a special live-streamed performance from the mountains of California. Andrew explains:
I want to keep the Gezelligheid tradition going, though I'll be nowhere near Fourth Presbyterian in
Chicago this year. In a way, I'll be merging Gezelligheid with Echolocations as the Janus horn sends my violin bouncing off surrounding oaks and mountains as the sun sets. Gezelligheid (which roughly translates to cozy) was conceived as a way to get through the seasonal darkness with a communal experience. This year will be a test of our individual and collective strength. Preview the Janus horns in action in the audio video for HARK! original "Alabaster" and the recent live version of "Andalucia": https://found.ee/AB_AndaluciaLive
Following the December 13th live-stream, fans will have access to view the concert all throughout December. Tickets are available now, and also include an archive of 2013's Gezelligheid to enjoy in the meantime: https://found.ee/BirdGezellStream
Before the Gezelligheid show next month, catch
Andrew Bird in the final episodes of the current installment of Fargo on FX. Watch Andrew, show creator Noah Hawley, co-star
Jessie Buckley and more discuss his experience in the role of Thurman Smutny: https://youtu.be/cxMg0V1_nU8
