Noble Beast

Noble Beast
Studio album by Andrew Bird
Released	January 20, 2009
Genre	Indie rock, baroque pop
Label	Fat Possum, Bella Union Records
Andrew Bird chronology
Soldier On EP (2007) Noble Beast (2009)

Noble Beast is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fifth solo studio album released on January 20, 2009.^[1] Two songs from this album were previewed on his webpage, "Oh No" and "Carrion Suite", while the entire album was made available by NPR^[2] as a streaming feed. Noble Beast was made available as a standard CD release, a special limited-edition deluxe two-CD package and a double-LP package.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andrew Bird, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Oh No"	4:20
2.	"Masterswarm"	6:35
3.	"Fitz and the Dizzyspells"	3:36
4.	"Effigy"	5:06
5.	"Tenuousness"	3:51
6.	"Nomenclature"	2:54
7.	"Ouo"	0:20
8.	"Not a Robot, but a Ghost" (Bird, Martin Dosh)	5:37
9.	"Unfolding Fans" (Bird, Jeremy Ylvisaker)	0:57
10.	"Anonanimal"	4:47
11.	"Natural Disaster"	4:18
12.	"The Privateers"	3:24
13.	"Souverian"	7:18
14.	"On Ho!"	1:08

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
15.	"Section 8 City" (iTunes only bonus track)	7:41
16.	"10-you-us" (iTunes pre-order only bonus track)
17.	"Take Courage" (eMusic only bonus track)	6:51

Deluxe edition bonus disc

Deluxe Edition album art, to be used for Noble Beast/Useless Creatures 2 CD set

The limited edition of Noble Beast shipped with a companion disc of instrumental songs, entitled Useless Creatures.^[3] This collection was made available on Bird's website in early January, before the album's release. Noble Beast / Useless Creatures was deleted after one initial run, both in the US and the UK, exclusively.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Master Sigh"	2:17
2.	"You Woke Me Up!"	7:24
3.	"Nyatiti"	4:01
4.	"The Barn Tapes"	10:12
5.	"Carrion Suite"	9:39
6.	"Spinney"	0:45
7.	"Dissent"	3:54
8.	"Hot Math"	7:18
9.	"Sigh Master"	5:32

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	(B+)[5]
Drowned in Sound	(9/10)[6]
The Guardian	[7]
LA Times	[8]
Paste	(6.7/10)[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[10]
Pitchfork Media	(7.5/10)[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
The Skinny	[13]
Spin	(7/10)[14]
Uncut	[15]

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	12
U.S. Billboard Rock Albums	3
U.S. Billboard Digital Albums	54
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums	1

References

1. ^ Paul Thompson, "Andrew Bird to Unleash Noble Beast on New Album", pitchforkmedia.com, October 3, 2008.
2. ^ Exclusive First Listen: Andrew Bird's 'Noble Beast'
3. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/andrew-bird/41319
4. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1468944/review
5. ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/andrew-bird-noble-beast,23075/
6. ^ Skinner, James (2009-02-02). "Andrew Bird - Noble Beast". Drowned in Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14199/reviews/4136388-andrew-bird-noble-beast. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
7. ^ Costa, Maddy (30 January 2009). "Andrew Bird - Noble Beast". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jan/30/andrew-bird-noble-beast-review. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
8. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/01/album-review--1.html
9. ^ http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/01/andrew-bird-noble-beast.html
10. ^ http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/andrew-bird-noble-beast
11. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/148544-andrew-bird-noble-beast/
12. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/25461863/review/25523856/noble_beast
13. ^ http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/44596-andrew-bird-noble-beast
14. ^ http://www.spin.com/reviews/andrew-bird-noble-beast-fat-possum
15. ^ http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/andrew_bird/reviews/12702