Andrew Bird is more than Bowl of Fire. I used to see him playing traditional folk with groups in Chicago and he is truly amazing. I was delighted to see that he's still keeping that part of his repertoire well lubed. The man can coax emotion from his violin better than a lot of the so-called masters out there. Genius. Enjoy this and his work with Bowl of Fire -- both very different, but both brilliant.

Plesant folk melodies put the mind to ease. I would not characterize this as Bird's best album but it is most definetly worth a listen

personally, i wouldnt start with this one. if youre into 'folky stuff', weather systems is still pretty acoustic and folk-driven at its core, but is more musically embellished, more melodic and dramatic--and to me, more fun to listen to. but to hear the true genius, range and subtlety this guy is capable of, you must listen to Mysterious Production Of Eggs. it is astonishing the amount of ideas he put on one record. try 'sovay' or 'measuring cups'. i saw him at middle east last year on the MPOE tour. one of the best nights of my life. if you consider yourself 'into music", you really deserve to hear andrew bird.

like the tital says, traditional is not all that bad. there are alot of "real" folk songs here. it is pretty different from thrills, swimming hour, and mysterious production of eggs. and different is not bad either. allmost all the songs are andrew and his violin. some with him singing but most just him playing alone. he has talent that was not picked up by the public soon enough. probably his most strong diverse release is mysterious production of eggs, only because it blended rock into his folksy writing, but this album will allways show you what andrew bird does best on his own... he owns the violin!

Yeah this album smells like foot. Straight foot. Mysterious Production of Bad Album.