There is nobody like Andrew Bird in the world, a songwriter and a performer who makes his whistling, his glockenspiel, and his violin at home with guitars, drums, and vocals in detailed, pitch-perfect pop songs that never seem precious or forced, as eccentric as they are.
But when you’re as idiosyncratic as Bird is, that means there aren’t many people whose vision matches your own.
Unless you’re holed up in your bedroom poring over blogs and obscure magazines for the best music that isn’t being hawked by the major labels, there’s an excellent chance you’re a bit lost in the current marketplace. The rise of digital music delivery has meant that there’s very little you can’t download from somewhere, and the simple fact is that there is more music in the world than a person could possibly listen to in a thousand lifetimes.
As my wife and my bank account will confirm, I’m trying to do my part. So here are 12 albums (and one stray song) from 2005 that I loved, most of them in the indie-rock vein and all of them a bit off the beaten path.
Burnt Toast