Search - David Usher :: Strange Birds

Brilliant

Raven Shaddock | USA | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dave never fails to amazes me w/ his haunting lyrics of love, faith, drugs, life it just makes you think.

It seems w/ each CD he just outdoes himself. I can't understand why Dave hasn't broke through in the US. I'm just glad he's producing more CDs. Some great tracks are 'Brilliant', 'Ugly Is Beautiful', 'White Flag'.

Reminds a bit from his Morning Orbit and Hallucinations CDs."

Thought-Provoking, Allegorical Lyrics

Daniel Siksay | Ontario, Canada | 05/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"David Usher has never been a particularly fantastic musician. His guitar skills are quite passable, mind you, but on this, the Canadian musician's fifth solo outing, one can hear Usher's musical ideas starting to repeat themselves. Since the release of Hallucinations, Mr. Usher's third album as a solo artist, he seems to have settled on two particular formulas for songs; intricate yet repetitive acoustic numbers, and mainstream pop with lush semi-electronic arrangements.



This is not to say that Strange Birds is a bad album. Far from it, in fact. The music, criticisms noted above, just doesn't take priority here. What does take priority is, in fact, David Usher's finest skill; lyrics.



Strange Birds continues David Usher's tradition of writing thought-provoking, allegorical lyrics that make you think instead of making you cringe. While thematically, this album isn't much of a departure from his previous efforts (focusing on drug use, city life, questions about faith and God, pessimism versus optimism, and the gray areas in between), Usher still writes strongly and meaningfully on the topics he does cover.



While certainly not this artist's finest hour, Strange Birds is certainly a showcase of David Usher's lyrical prowess. The music, on the other hand, is nice but largely disposable. Then again, maybe that puts some deserved focus on the words, which are infinitely more thought-provoking. David Usher is an artist with something to say; and that is a refreshing change from most of the tripe that Canadians hear on the radio."

At the top of his game

Leslie K | Portland, OR | 01/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is David Usher doing what he does best - writing pure poetry and setting it to music so listenable you'll be hard-pressed to take this CD off repeat. Usher takes his place easily amoung the best singer/songwriters of his day, he is a true bard. The combination of complex lyrics and simple melodies are his trademark, and he's at the top of his game with Strange Birds. I listened to it nonstop during the last 2 months of my pregnancy with my son who was born in June - to this day nothing calms him down like David Usher's voice."