Magnolia

Wooden Birds (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 12, 2009)
• Original Release Date: May 12, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Barsuk
• ASIN: B00242GSDK
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #124,759 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Wooden Birds is the new project of American Analog Set frontman Andrew Kenny, a native Texan who returned home to Austin from Brooklyn to make the album of his career with a new project featuring members of acclaimed bands Sparklehorse, Ola
Podrida and Lymbyc Systym. Despite the involvement of new musical partners (creating a much more vocal- and percussion-driven sound than the
keyboard-and-vibes-hypnotics of American Analog Set), and Kenny's time spent as an occasional guest performer over the past few years with the likes of The Album Leaf, Her Space
Holiday, Styrofoam, Ola Podrida, Arthur and Yu, and, most recently, Broken Social Scene, his voice and ear for melody and rhythm are unmistakable on Magnolia. AmAnSet fans will immediately recognize Kenny's unique voice and melodic sense upon hearing The Wooden Birds, but the drastically different sonic environment and arrangements of the new band are an intriguing and exciting change of pace.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From His Living Room To Yours, May 14, 2009

By	Abromeitiella "Stiv" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

It's good to see an Andrew Kenny release because I'm a fan of AmAnSet. I read a quick review, after putting this on pre-order. I didn't listen to any of the songs on-line. I wanted to let my system do the talking. After four or five continued listens, it was clear that each song was based on the same beat or rhythm. If this is Kenny's new style, it gets old after awhile; especially if you can't get the tight rhythm section from AnAnSet out of your mind. I listened without bias, and it was clear this was a living room recording, a bare bones sound structure with some heavy lyrics. It's good to her Andrew Kenny's vocals again and now with the lack of electronic effects, Magnolia is a perfect precursor to the new season here on the Northern side of the equator. It's a hushed recording, one I was afraid to turn up too loud, else I would crash the mood of the Wooden Birds. Magnolia is a great counterpoint to Kenny's previous work and sizes up more towards his effort with Death Cab's Ben Gibbard "Home" recording. I read an article from 1999 where one of the AmAnSet's members remarked about how good "Ken's" demos were, that he felt the band spoiled what Ken had put down by himself. I think Magnolia might just be that, the music that Andrew Kenny writes without the impact of a plugged-in unit or time spent in the studio as a known perfectionist. He seems to have got it just right for this release.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars amateur production, amateur writing, amateur . . ., September 16, 2009

By	John W. Dunner "Jay Dunner" (Atco, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Whatever the former creds of Andrew Kenny, this home-recorded(?) disc is just self-indulgent noodling. Virtually every song has the same plodding tempo, the same fey vocals, the same badly-recorded strummed acoustic, the same lack of hooks EVERYWHERE. The only redeeming quality was the tasteful, lightly vibrato'd lead guitar lines, but they're not enough to rescue this CD from the "why bother?" bin. Nothing on this disc made a statement. Nothing on this disc gave me a reason why I should listen at all. Wooden birds, indeed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Andrew Kenny is a musical genius, May 13, 2009

By	Ryan Anderson "masstransfer" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Magnolia [Explicit] (MP3 Download)

Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set is one of the most underrated musicians of our time. This is a more intimate portrayal of the music he's been making for 15 years now. I will always check out what this guy has to offer.