Andrew Bird Hot Math

Andrew Bird's instrumental Useless Creatures, originally released as a limited edition companion disc with last year's Noble Beast, finally sees a full release. Recorded over the course of a week at the famed Wilco Loft in Chicago, Bird was joined by Wilco's own Glenn Kotche on percussion and jazz musician Todd Sickafoose on double bass.

Mostly leftover musings from Noble Beast, Useless Creatures features the stand out track "The Barn Tapes," a recording full of chirping crickets and cicadas scurrying that Bird crafted at his second home, a farm three hours west of the city.

In "December," Bird reprises his series of Gezelligheid shows. A Dutch term for "social cozy," the shows attempt to adapt Bird's music to the space and season. Playing in synagogues and churches, lit only by ambient light and amplified only by his trademark swirling double speakers, he aptly captures the autumn atmosphere.

"I want the audience to be both lifted and comforted as we head into another cold and dark winter. I feel the space should be sacred so the audience can experience my music in a different atmosphere," Bird said of the shows last year.

Useless Creatures captures many of the ambient experimental moments that stem from his live shows, featuring looping melodic violins intertwined with swirling harmonic whistles. The already sold-out Gezelligheid tour arrives at Washington, DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagougue December 6-8, and Converse Hall at Tremont Temple in Boston December 10 before returning for a three night homestand at Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church Decemeber 15-17. If you reside in one of those cities, it's an event that's not to be missed.