@reubent - I am a big fan of Andrew Bird, have seen him live many times, which if you haven't seen him, you must. Incredible. Especially when he is totally solo and no additional players. Fascinating.
Noble Beast, in my opinion, is not his most accessible album. Even as a fan it took me a bit longer to warm up to but l like it now and it is maybe my favorite album of his on vinyl. It is not nearly as good as Armchair Apocrypha but is recorded really well. My copy sounds very good. Hope you give it more spins and if you don't have Armchair I highly recommend that as well.
