By Will McGuirk

Ah yes Andrew Bird , there is a lot of seventiesy softy rock here, coyly cocky hat, Billy Joel, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Clair, Brandy, the mournful smile, the hint of sadness in the corner of her eye, and so yes “Sisyphus”, pushing the rock everyday only to wake up at the bottom again, a groundhog day of futility but as my mate Camus says we must imagine him happy so put your arms around the Bird and imagine there is a happiness in this here song from his album, ‘My Finest Work Yet’ too . Who knows if the title is apt but who are we to disagree with a writer so intent in his craft. And listen to Bloodless too - slotted in below, also from the same record.

All tongues and cheeks aside, "My Finest Work Yet" finds Bird grappling with themes of current day dichotomies and how to identify a moral compass amidst such divisive times. "I'm interested in the idea that our enemies are what make us whole-there's an intimacy one shares with their opponent when locked in such a struggle.

We find ourselves in a cold civil war. Everyone is playing their part too well. Certain actors are reaping power and wealth from divisiveness. Echoes of the Spanish civil war when fascists and clergy win because they put up a united front against the individualistic and principled (yet scattered) left.