Andrew Bird has shared a new video for “Make a Picture,” illustrating the lyrics’ imagery and inventive turns of phrase in English, French, Japanese, Spanish, and more.
In recent weeks, the song has been performed on CBS Saturday Morning, NPR Music’s Tiny Desk, and sold-out venues across Bird’s sweeping Outside Problems tour this summer, quickly emerging as one of the many standouts from his latest album Inside Problems, out now on Loma Vista Recordings.
“Make a Picture” was previously accompanied by an eccentric and cinematic, cat-filled music video that captured Bird in the midst of a photoshoot with a pack of felines, and in between shifts at a hospital desk. “‘Make a Picture’ is about digesting images from historic events and constituting a narrative for your memory,” he said. “‘Tell us what you think you saw. Make a picture.’ We saw a lot of horror and darkness and a lot of inspiring bravery. So, what’s the story we tell after digesting? What’s the synapses’ synopsis?”
Following a continuation of the Outside Problems tour this fall, co-headlined with Iron & Wine, Andrew Bird will head back to his native Chicago for his beloved Gezelligheid shows. Taking place in-person at the city’s Fourth Presbyterian Church for the first time in three years, the annual tradition of holiday concerts has been extended to seven nights due to incredible demand. Tickets for the December residency are on-sale now.
While Andrew Bird’s Gezelligheid performances typically feature instrumental, improvisational violin pieces amplified through his signature spinning horns, attendees can also expect to hear material from Inside Problems. With highlights like “Make a Picture,” the Joan Didion-inspired “Atomized,” and more, Pitchfork calls it “a warm, collaborative record that feels like a balm for fear and loneliness,” as it finds the Grammy-nominated musician, songwriter and composer entering “previously uncharted territory.”