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Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
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Track Listings
| 1. The Music |
| 2. Brilliant |
| 3. Ugly Is Beautiful |
| 4. So Far Down |
| 5. Spotlight On |
| 6. Science |
| 7. White Flag |
| 8. Happy Endings |
| 9. Life Of Bees |
| 10. Blue |
| 11. Some People Say |
Product Description
Album Description
David Usher is back with arguably the strongest album of his solo career. Strange Birds resonates with superb material highlighting his introspective lyrical style without sacrificing the commanding intensity of the voice he brings to the stage. Produced by Byron Wong (My Brilliant Beast, Chemical Brothers) with Brian Malouf (David Gray, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Pink) providing additional production and mixing, Strange Birds is a return to David's earlier solo material capturing the singer's unique presence like never before. Includes the explosive first single "The Music."
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Longer with Moist, but Usher Hasn't Dried Out,
By
This review is from: Strange Birds (Audio CD)
Since bidding adieu to 'Moist', the outfit that made him a Canadian household name, David Usher has released several solo albums (most recently, 'If God Had Curves' and 'Hallucinations'). While his solo offerings are fairly consistent, 'Strange Birds' is by far the best of the lot. Mixing folk/pop and ambience as always, Usher creates a stark and sad CD that is accessible (both lyrically and melodically) yet still maintains its seriousness as art.Usher returns to the kind of sound that helped launch his solo career (think a more mature 'Morning Orbit'); rapid, tumbling choruses, whispering, dramatic bridges, acoustic guitar combined with David Gray-esque backbeats, and of course injecting both politics and true love into his lyrics; Usher doesn't take any big chances with his new album, he sticks with what works and although there is nothing completely new or original, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The standout tracks include the uplifting "The Music", the smooth, sad pop-soaked "White Flag", "Happy Endings" (which has PERFECT rainy day vibed acoustic guitar), and "Science" which has an awesome build-up feel, starting off with a whisper and ending up as a scream. New fans and old fans are guaranteed to appreciate "Strange Birds" in all its shimmery smart-pop glory.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Amazing,
By Robyn A (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Strange Birds (Audio CD)
The title of David Usher's latest album comes from a line in track 9, 'Life of Bees.'The lyrics read as follows: "The wings, they uncurl/ Like the strangest of birds/ We're all breaking down again/ As I look to the sky/ Through the fallout tonight/ We're all breaking down again" David Usher's expressive vocals, impressive lyrics, and superb band make this the best CD that I have heard in years. Of course I have my favourite songs, namely The Music, Ugly is Beautiful, and Blue, but by no means are the other songs 'skippable'. Every song is unique and ultimately beautiful. I do not plan on taking this CD out of my CD player for some time. Absolutely reccomended. --Robyn
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By Raven Shaddock - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Strange Birds (Audio CD)
Dave never fails to amazes me w/ his haunting lyrics of love, faith, drugs, life it just makes you think.It seems w/ each CD he just outdoes himself. I can't understand why Dave hasn't broke through in the US. I'm just glad he's producing more CDs. Some great tracks are 'Brilliant', 'Ugly Is Beautiful', 'White Flag'. Reminds a bit from his Morning Orbit and Hallucinations CDs. 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-Provoking, Allegorical Lyrics,
By Daniel Siksay - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Strange Birds (Audio CD)
David Usher has never been a particularly fantastic musician. His guitar skills are quite passable, mind you, but on this, the Canadian musician's fifth solo outing, one can hear Usher's musical ideas starting to repeat themselves. Since the release of Hallucinations, Mr. Usher's third album as a solo artist, he seems to have settled on two particular formulas for songs; intricate yet repetitive acoustic numbers, and mainstream pop with lush semi-electronic arrangements.This is not to say that Strange Birds is a bad album. Far from it, in fact. The music, criticisms noted above, just doesn't take priority here. What does take priority is, in fact, David Usher's finest skill; lyrics. Strange Birds continues David Usher's tradition of writing thought-provoking, allegorical lyrics that make you think instead of making you cringe. While thematically, this album isn't much of a departure from his previous efforts (focusing on drug use, city life, questions about faith and God, pessimism versus optimism, and the gray areas in between), Usher still writes strongly and meaningfully on the topics he does cover. While certainly not this artist's finest hour, Strange Birds is certainly a showcase of David Usher's lyrical prowess. The music, on the other hand, is nice but largely disposable. Then again, maybe that puts some deserved focus on the words, which are infinitely more thought-provoking. David Usher is an artist with something to say; and that is a refreshing change from most of the tripe that Canadians hear on the radio. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
At the top of his game,
By Leslie K - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Strange Birds (Audio CD)
This is David Usher doing what he does best - writing pure poetry and setting it to music so listenable you'll be hard-pressed to take this CD off repeat. Usher takes his place easily amoung the best singer/songwriters of his day, he is a true bard. The combination of complex lyrics and simple melodies are his trademark, and he's at the top of his game with Strange Birds. I listened to it nonstop during the last 2 months of my pregnancy with my son who was born in June - to this day nothing calms him down like David Usher's voice.
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