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Description
**My Finest Work Yet** arrives as Andrew Bird's twelfth solo studio album, released March 22, 2019, marking his first overtly political statement to date. The album's title was originally an inside joke, a self-deprecating tongue-in-cheek nod that Bird eventually embraced as an inside reference to his own artistic evolution. The cover art, photographed by Amanda Demme, recreates Jacques-Louis David's 1793 painting *The Death of Marat*-a choice that shifted from purely theatrical to politically resonant as the French Revolution's history aligned with the album's themes of apathy, climate change, and our nation's divisive political atmosphere.
Recorded with Bird's full band playing together in the studio, the album embraces an analog ideal in an era of isolation: instruments bleed across channels, against the modern trend of isolating every sound. The sessions took place at Barefoot Studios, Sound City, and Dreamland, all in various locales of Los Angeles and New York. Key collaborators include Paul Butler on vocals and production, Tyler Chester on piano and organ, Blake Mills on guitar, and Ted Poor on drums. The live-in-the-studio approach yielded a warm, dynamic sound that critics noted felt fresh and uncluttered.
Critically, the album was well-received, scoring an 80 on Metacritic and earning praise from publications like AllMusic, Pitchfork, and The A.V. Club. Mark Deming of AllMusic called it "passionate, beautifully crafted indie rock with an artful undercurrent of folk," highlighting Bird's consistent vocal strength and first-rate guitar and violin work alongside his signature whistling. The album's irreverent existentialism returns on *My Finest Work Yet*, with Bird tackling uncomfortable subjects with humor and purpose.
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<sup>[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-finest-work-yet-mw0003551461)</sup> <sup>[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Finest_Work_Yet)</sup> <sup>[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/andrew-bird-my-finest-work-yet/)</sup>
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