Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird Release New Album, These 13 (Thirty Tigers)

Live-Streamed Concert Set for April 11, Tickets Include Early Access to Director's Cut of These 13Documentary: Watch the Trailer

Listen to Interview on NPR Morning Edition

"The vocals are spot on and so is the musicianship" **** - MOJO

 

Today, Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird release These 13, the first new album they have made together in more than two decades. Following a prolonged period of musical separation for the former Squirrel Nut Zippers collaborators, These 13 captures "the warm, first-take feel of two old friends having a fine old time" (MOJO). Created over the course of 2018-2020, Mathus and Bird co-wrote every song through an exchange of voice memos, verses and ideas, and alongside producer Mike Viola they recorded the LP live to tape, playing and singing from opposite sides of a single microphone.  Listen to These 13 via Thirty Tigers: https://orcd.co/these13  Learn more about the album in Mathus and Bird's interview on NPR Morning Edition, discussing the ways their different backgrounds have brought out the best in each other, the fun they had on These 13, and the poignant story behind album opener "Poor Lost Souls," which delivers heartrending harmonies and "a hook you can hang a porch swing on" (AV Club).  On April 11, Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird will perform These 13 as part of a special concert they're live-streaming from Ojai, CA. Tickets are now available, and include access to view the director's cut of a raw, intimate and unreleased documentary they filmed while making the record. Find more info: sessionslive.com/andrewbird/tickets Watch the trailer for These 13, the documentary: https://found.ee/These13Trailer   Revisit recent live renditions of "Sweet Oblivion," "Poor Lost Souls" and "Three White Horses and a Golden Chain," and check out a new performance of "Encircle My Love"here: https://found.ee/EncircleMyLoveVideo  While it's been over 25 years since the folk festival where Mathus and Bird first met - Bird working as the medieval fiddler at a Midwest renaissance fair, Mathus just beginning the ascent of Squirrel Nut Zippers - These 13 is about the special kind of human connection that can survive any distance of time or geography. "Bird and Mathus span a wide swath of human experience," says Paste Magazine. "And the practiced ease with which they do so, and their easy rapport, suggest that maybe they ought to do this more often."

Praise for These 13

"The vocals are spot on and so is the musicianship"

MOJO

"Low-key virtuoso flexing...they couldn't look happier to link up again, and that energy is audible"

Consequence of Sound

"Not only do their voices weave together seamlessly in a poignant manner, but Mathus' acoustic guitar and Bird's fiddle combine to create a joyous noise that could fill the whole Tennessee Valley"

AV Club

"The two-guys-and-a-microphone approach here shows a genuine musical affinity between the musicians. Mathus' earthier voice contrasts well with Bird's more refined vocals, and the guitar and violin interact like two sides of an engrossing conversation"

Paste

"A little bit folk, a little bit gospel, a little bit bluesy, a little bit Hank, a little bit hill country, but most emphatically, it is all heart...an embrace of not only music, but of the churning of the human spirit as it navigates the world and reaches for others"

Garden & Gun 

 

About Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed musician, songwriter and composer who has released sixteen records to date. Recording and touring extensively, Bird has performed around the world at festivals and renowned institutions including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and Walt Disney Concert Hall. A TED Talks presenter, a New Yorker Festival guest, and an op-ed contributor for the New York Times, Bird also made his professional acting debut in the cast of Fargo's fourth installment, which premiered on FX in the fall of 2020. Bird's 2019 album, My Finest Work Yet, was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

 

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

 

About Jimbo Mathus

Jimbo Mathus is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the Gold and Platinum-certified swing revival band, Squirrel Nut Zippers. The group toured extensively throughout the 1990s, including performances for the 1996 Summer Olympics, The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and more. Since the early 2000s, Mathus' career has included work for Buddy Guy and Elvis Costello, and a vast collection of solo projects that have led to his music being heard on Shameless, Ray Donovan and far beyond.

 

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube