We Will Become Like Birds

Erin McKeown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nettwerk Records
• ASIN: B0009NCPFG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,876 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Aspera

2. Air

3. Life On the Moon

4. To The Stars

5. Beautiful (I Guess)

6. Float

7. We Are More

8. White City

9. The Golden Dream (featuring Juana Molina)

10. Bells and Bombs

11. Delicate December (featuring Peter Mulvey)

12. You Were Right About Everything

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After the higher polish production values of Grand in 2003, Erin McKeown took to the road with an edgier format. Playing electric guitar, she was usually accompanied by just a drummer. The songs and approach for this album started to take shape during that time. On her fourth album, she moves with ease from reveries about the natural forces all around her to carefully rendered paeans to struggle and perseverance. Tucker Martine's production embraces everything from earthy atmospherics ("The Golden Dream") to irresistible pop hooks ("White City") and from punch-in-the-gut rockers ("Bells and Bombs") to the prayer-like and propulsive ("Aspera"). The settings vary, but the inviting and confident character of McKeown's songs and voice make for a bracing whole. --David Greenberger

Product Description

Songs Include : Aspera / Air / Life On The Moon / To The Stars / Beautiful I Guess / Float / Wa Are More / White City / The Golden Dream / Bells And Bombs / Delicate December / You Were Right About Everything

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Album From a Talented Artist August 30, 2005

By Billy Mabray

Format:Audio CD

Overall, this is a good album. Fans of Erin McKeown will notice the sound is closer to Grand than to Distillation - more pop and less funk. If that's your thing then add another half star. I think Distillation was her best work, so I have to deduct a few points from this album's overall score.

But, there is a lot to enjoy here. Erin's voice is pleasant and inspiring - it has that distinctive timber all good storytelling voices have. As always, the lyrics are imaginative and thought-provoking.

As I said, this is a good album but, when compared to Erin's earlier work, not a great album. Still, it's always good to hear from this talented artist.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "it's beautiful, i guess" August 30, 2005

By Rhianon England

Format:Audio CD

I recieved this for my birthday today, and so far i'm having a great time with it! Very upbeat album. Made a great soundtrack, as i ran around the city today. "White city" and "Bells and Bombs" have a great "strut" to them.

I've known of Erin for a long time, and distilation was a great album.... but i'm not dissapointed by this one at all. It still has a good vibe that grows with you every listen.

I could kick myself for not seeing her here in Seattle last week. Her "stylings" are even more impressive live.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars High Concept September 11, 2005

By lb136 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Erin McKeown's remarkable "We Will Become Like Birds" is a concept album, of sorts. And the concept is flight.

Erin's vibrato-free alto is as superb as it was with the jazzier "Grand" (this one's more pop), and her intelligent lyrics would have won approval from the likes of Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart.

Highlights are the anthemic "Aspera," with its Latin motto, the poppy "To the Stars," the dramatic "White City," and the absolutely to die for "Delicate December."

A must have.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Were I stranded on a desert isle... August 6, 2005

By T. Miller

Format:Audio CD

and allowed one item from the 'real world,' I would say "to heck with the satellite phone! to heck with the flares, knives, and water purifiers! give me 'we will become like birds'!" But then, I suppose I would regret not asking for a cd player or endless power supply. So forget the desert isle, just give me this cd for relaxing at home, driving to and fro, and sitting around the beach bonfire with friends. This is the one cd that I constantly carry back and forth from car to home stereo. Honestly I think the only time this cd can't be found in my stereo is when my sister has stolen it to listen to it in lieu of keith urban, or my fiance has put down his joe satriani to spend some alone time with erin. This music is for everyone, and the disc is destined to become as worn as Distillation and Grand. Buy it. Now.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Enough August 30, 2005

By Angela M.

Format:Audio CD

I've been a fan of Erin McKeown's since I first heard "Distillation" a few years back. I loved her funky, upbeat, unique sound and the great lyrics. I picked up "Monday Morning Cold" and loved it as well. "Grand" didn't disappoint either, though I found fewer songs I just loved. And that's how I feel about "We Will Become Like Birds." There's still songs I love, but they're fewer & farther between.

Overall the album is less acoustic and more polished sounding than her previous albums. It flows well, which makes it good for background listening. The lyrics are still great, of course, and include some great comments on emotions and relationships.

But it didn't feel like the simple joyful expression of music I enjoyed in the previous albums. I felt like I didn't hear as much of Erin McKeown's unique voice -- it's too covered by the instruments for my tastes.

I'd still recommend the album for the songs I consider real jewels. "To the Stars" and "We Are More" are great songs that remind me of the sound I loved from the older albums. "Bells and Bombs" and "You Were Right About Everything" are both beautifully-written and performed songs. And the more I listen to the others, the more they grow on me.

So it's not "Distillation" or "Monday Morning Cold." But it's still Erin McKeown. And that's good enough for me...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars painfully beautiful, achingly brilliant August 15, 2005

By A. Chang

Format:Audio CD

I have watched Erin McKeown's career as it has shifted and changed, like the colors of the sea as you drift deeper and deeper out. Her music has become more complex and varied, occasionally more stormy and turbulent, and with We Will Become Like Birds, more intensely personal. I find this record to be a triumph-- each song is delightful and yet sorrowful, sweet and wistful. I love this album. It begins with Aspera, rocking with energy, and ends with the hopeful-yet-tinged-with-sadness You Were Right About Everything. It's addictive.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars to the stars.... November 11, 2005

By M. cox

Format:Audio CD

Erin Mckeown's references to Judy Garland are a little more understated in this album than the last (grand), yet they are still there if you listen close! It also took me a little longer to get into this one than the last but, overall, I think I like it even more. The lyrics, for the most part, seem more introspective and sanguine, and the melodies are as wonderful as ever! The last track 'You were right about everything' is my favorite.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Grand departure July 7, 2005

By Jonathan O. Dewbre

Format:Audio CD

I first saw Erin McKeown when she touring with Joan Baez, and I have to say that she performed one of the best, if not the best, opening acts that I've ever heard. I was amazed by her brilliant guitar playing, her jazzy vocals, her unique, somewhat off-kilter lyrics, and above all, the dynamic energy that she put across. I immediately went out and got "Grand" and "Distillation," and her studio sound, which fused contemporary folk, country and Tin Pan Alley pop (among other genres) did not disappoint. I would still love to see her perform her own live solo set if she'd venture back to Dallas.

That said, "We Will Become Birds" is a departure for Ms. McKeown, one that has more in common with mainstream pop than with contemporary folk. The songs, technically, are excellent - catchy, lyrically intelligent music that is probably more accessible than her previous work. Gone, however, is the dynamic, upbeat sound of "Blackbirds," "Queen Of Quiet," "La Petite Mort," "Born To Hum" or "Cinematic." In its place is the fuller, more mellow (almost depressing) sound of "Aspera," "Beautiful (I Guess)" and "Delicate December." And McKeown's guitar playing, beautifully demonstrated on "Distillation" but less prominent on "Grand," seems almost relegated to the background here, less intended to show off her skills than to add to the lush sound of the album. Some people have mentioned here that they feel "Birds" is more unified than McKeown's last two albums, but I think that's precisely what makes this album less interesting - it's too polished, too much of a studio effort, and lacks the quirky touches of her previous work.

But I don't mean to unduly disparage Ms. McKeown if this is the new direction she is taking; certainly my opinion seems to be in the minority.... And strangely enough, my favorite track from this album is "You Were Right About Everything," a morose pop tune which is practically the antithesis of everything McKeown has recorded up to this point. Read more ›