Andrew Bird releases first song from forthcoming album

Andrew Bird released a track called “Eyeoneye” from his newest album Break it Yourself early Monday. The track is streaming exclusively on Pitchfork. Break it Yourself is Bird’s answer to his 2009 album Noble Beast, which climbed its way to number 12 on Billboard’s 200. If previous performance is any indication of future success, Break it Yourself is most definitely an album to look out for.

Beginning at the age of four, Bird took up the violin and his ability on the instrument is nothing short of virtuosic. Bird furthered his mastery of the violin while studying Violin Performance at Northwestern University, from which he graduated in 1996. But it normally isn’t his violin playing that catches the ear so much as it is the incredibly controlled whistle he uses as a rich layer of his music.

If one is familiar with Bird’s typical sound, if there were such a thing, “Eyeoneye” certainly marks a new direction in style. Among several other sounds on the track that conjure breakout releases from bands in 2011, the fiber of “Eyeoneye” seems dyed with the influence of Seattle’s Fleet Foxes. Nevertheless, Bird always entertains and there are surely more surprises to be discovered when the full-length album is released March 6.

Bird is releasing the record on the Mom + Pop label, and a new sound isn’t the only thing he’s experimenting with. When fans buy a ticket to a show from his upcoming tour, they will also receive a digital download of the album, as well as downloads for a previously recorded live EP and a five-track live EP from the tour this spring. It is refreshing to see artists experiment with the format of their album release and it will be interesting to see how Bird’s newest album is received.