Bird-Brains (stylized as BiRd-BrAiNs[1]) is the debut album by American lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus' project Tune-Yards. It was originally released as a Compact Cassette[2] on Marriage Records on June 9, 2009, and was re-released on August 17 by 4AD as a limited-edition pressing. It was released worldwide on November 16, 2009, with two bonus tracks.
| Bird-Brains | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 9, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Lo-fi | |||
| Length | 53:49 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Tune-Yards chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was recorded almost exclusively by Garbus on a hand recorder and mixed using Audacity.[3] Speaking to Charlotte Richardson Andrews of The Guardian, she noted her instrumental limitations and how they led to a dependence on percussion: "I had no bass – literally, I didn't own one – so the drums had to be big."[4]
Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[5] |
| Metacritic | 79/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Irish Times | [10] |
| MusicOMH | [11] |
| MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A[12] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10[1] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[13] |
Pitchfork ranked Bird-Brains at number 44 on their list of the top 50 albums of 2009.[14]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Merrill Garbus
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For You" | 1:50 |
| 2. | "Sunlight" | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Lions" | 4:59 |
| 4. | "Hatari" | 5:39 |
| 5. | "News" | 3:24 |
| 6. | "Jamaican" | 3:54 |
| 7. | "Jumping Jack" | 3:54 |
| 8. | "Little Tiger" | 4:59 |
| 9. | "Safety" | 4:37 |
| 10. | "Fiya" | 5:28 |
| 11. | "Synonynonym" | 3:50 |
| 12. | "Want Me To" (bonus track) | 4:24 |
| 13. | "Real Live Flesh" (bonus track) | 3:33 |
- The vinyl edition does not include the track "Synonynonym" and instead ends with "Fiya".
References edit
- ^ a b Richardson, Mark (April 3, 2009). "tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Sean and Matt (August 25, 2010). "Inside The Jukebox: Tune-Yards Q&A". The Wounded Jukebox. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ Eli Crews (2012). "Merrill Garbus: of tUnE-yArDs". Tape Op Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (April 7, 2011). "Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus on life after lo-fi". The Guardian. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ "BiRd-BrAiNs by tUnE-YaRdS reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "Reviews for BiRd-BrAiNs by tUnE-yArDs". Metacritic. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Bird-Brains – tUnE-yArDs". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- ^ Ashurst, Hari (November 17, 2009). "Album Review: Tune-Yards – BiRd-BrAiNs". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Hann, Michael (November 13, 2009). "tUnE-YaRDs: BiRd-BrAiNs (4AD)". The Guardian.
- ^ Carroll, Jim (October 16, 2009). "Tune-yards: Bird-Brains (4AD)". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Clarke, Jude (November 16, 2009). "tUnE-yArDs – BiRd-BrAiNs". MusicOMH. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (December 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Fairell, Jer (August 20, 2009). "tUnE-YaRdS: BiRd-BrAiNs". PopMatters. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
External links edit
- Official website
- [1] Tune-Yards at 4AD
- Bird-Brains at AllMusic