ANDREW BIRD RETURNS WITH FIRST SINGLE OF 2022 ATOMIZED
SUMMER TOUR INCLUDES SOLD OUT RED ROCKS AMPITHEATRE, GREEK THEATRE, RYMAN AUDITORIUM AND MORE WITH IRON & WINE, NEKO CASE,
ALLISON RUSSELL, MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
WATCH VIDEO FOR ATOMIZED
Toronto, ON – March 17, 2022 – In 1967, Joan Didion wrote that she “had dealt directly and flatly with the evidence of atomization, the proof that things fall apart.” Today, Andrew Bird updates her observation with the release of Atomized, his first new single and video of 2022. Listen to Atomized, out now here and watch the video here.
“Start making your apologies, blaming technology,” he sings. “They’re gonna try to get a rise to unseat you, they’ll demagnetize your poles and you know they’re gonna try to delete you…Here’s what I say to them: things fall apart.”
“Didion was updating W.B. Yeats for the fractious 60s,” Andrew Bird observes, by way of explanation. “This song takes it to the pixelated present where it’s not just society that is getting atomized but the self that is being broken apart and scattered.”
Recorded live by Andrew Bird and his four-piece band of bassist Alan Hampton, drummer Abe Rounds and guitarist-producer Mike Viola, the loose and tantalizing groove of Atomized is overlaid not only with hypnotically-plucked violin and seamless, sudden interludes, but sharp affirmations delivered with an effortless cool.
In the accompanying music video, directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin, Bird stands at the center of a surreal world split between light and dark. Chased by a version of himself, he studies his shadow, searches for meaning and sends warnings as his mind and body begin to operate separately. But while he teeters on the edge of sanity - singing, playing, sitting and standing - the rhythm stays steady.
Though the past three years have seen Andrew Bird busier than ever - between his acting debut in FX limited series Fargo, a long-awaited collaborative LP with Jimbo Mathus, an instant-classic Christmas record, a nonstop series of live streams, an original score for acclaimed PBS documentary Storm Lake, and more - Atomized picks up where he left off with 2019’s GRAMMY-nominated album, My Finest Work Yet.
This summer, Andrew Bird will debut the song live on his co-headline Outside Problems tour with Iron & Wine. From June through August, stretching from coast to coast, the extensive run will bring the two artists to more than 25 shows at such storied venues as Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, New York City’s Pier 17 and Colorado’s Red Rocks, as well as Chicago’s brand new Salt Shed and more listed below. Following a select number of appearances at Newport Folk Festival and Ravinia Festival in 2021, “Outside Problems” will mark Bird’s first full-band tour in nearly three years, featuring support from Allison Russell and Meshell Ndegeocello. Tickets are on-sale now at andrewbird.net/#tour, including a recently-announced leg of European dates.
Atomized Lyrics
They’re gonna try to get a rise
To unseat you
They’ll demagnetize your poles
And you know they’re gonna try to delete you
So now you’re atomized unwhole
You know better start making your apologies
Stop blaming technology
May you please start making your apologies
Blaming technology
We’re only human that’s what they tell us
Here’s what I say to them what is your point
Is each of us an island or more like Finland
Here’s what I say to them:
Things fall apart
Now there’s something in her eyes that completes you
Everyime she cries it brings you low
And just the merest sigh can defeat you
How can you be so wise and still not know?
Andrew Bird - 2022 Tour Dates
June 12 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren*
June 13 - San Diego, CA - The Magnolia*
June 15 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre*
June 17 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre*
June 18 - Portland, OR - Pioneer Courthouse Square*
June 19 - Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo*
June 21 - Salt Lake City, UT - TBA*
June 22 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre^
June 23 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
July 10 - Paris, FR - Days Off Festival w/ L'Orchestre national d'Île-de-France
July 12 - Lyon, FR - Les Nuits de Fourvières Festival w/ L'Orchestre national de Lyon
July 14 - Munich, Germany - Neue Theaterfabrik
July 15 - Berlin, Germany - Metropol
July 16 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg Grote Zaal
July 17 - Köln, Germany - Gloria Theater
July 19 - London, UK - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
July 22 - Atlanta, GA - Pullman Yards#
July 23 - Asheville, NC - Rabbit Rabbit#
July 24 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium#
July 25 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth#
July 27 - Charlottesville, VA - Ting Pavilion#
July 28 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap#
July 29 - New York, NY - Pier 17#
July 30 - New Haven, CT - Westville Bowl#
July 31 - Bethlehem, PA - Steel Stacks#
August 2 - Lafayette, NY - Beak & Skiff#
August 4 - Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion at Riverbend#
August 5 - Grand Rapids, MI - TBA#
August 6 - Indianapolis, IN - TCU Amphitheater#
August 8 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE#
August 9 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live!#
August 10 - St Louis, MO - Chesterfield Amphitheater#
August 12 - Chicago, IL - Salt Shed#
August 13 - Minneapolis, MN - Surly#
*w/ Iron & Wine and Allison Russell
^w/ Iron & Wine and Neko Case
#w/ Iron & Wine and Meshell Ndegeocello