''Crane Like the Bird'' is an album by Crane Like the Bird, led by

Kyle Crane Kyle Crane is an American drummer. He is best known for his work with producer Daniel Lanois. He performed as the drum double for the film ''Whiplash (2014 film), Whiplash''. Biography Crane is the son of a Coast Guard pilot, and lived in a numb ...

Recording and music

The album was the first recorded as a leader by

. The instrumentation varies from track to track, but keyboards and synthesizers feature prominently. "Now" features horns and vibraphones; "Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park" contains guitar and bass. James Mercer sings on "Wishing Cap". Luke Steele sings on "Mendocino".

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...

plays keyboards and piano on "Kaleidoscope", which also features

Sabina Sciubba Sabina Margrit Sciubba or Sabina is a singer, composer, and actress. She is best known as the lead singer for the Grammy-nominated electronica band Brazilian Girls. She is also a visual artist. She has a solo career, and also worked as an actress, ...

on vocals.

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint (previously named Norman Bailer), Commander Venu ...

sings on "When I See", which has

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

on pedal steel guitar and

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

on guitar. "Glass Half Full" features

Peter Morén Peter Andreas Morén (born 5 May 1976) is a Swedish musician. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the indie rock trio Peter Bjorn and John. He is also a founding member of the Stockholm-based artist collective INGRID. He was born and raised i ...

; "The Painter" features

M. Ward Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...

Releases and reception

''Crane Like the Bird'' was released on January 18, 2019. "Nicole" was first released as a single; "Wishing Cap" was released as a single on December 19, 2018. The Spill Magazine reviewer highlighted the contrast between the energy and positive tone of the music and the themes of nostalgia and loss in the lyrics. Thefirenote's reviewer wrote: "By maintaining a strong musical flow through the album, Crane takes advantage of his multiple collaborators' talents while delving into deep emotions of loss and grief without becoming maudlin and despairing, and marking it as a strong, personal statement."

Track listing

#"Wishing Cap" – 2:27 #"Now" – 3:27 #"Nicole" – 3:10 #"Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park" – 4:06 #"Mendocino" – 3:30 #"When I See" – 3:52 #"Kaleidoscope" – 9:29 #"Glass Half Full" – 3:12 #"The Painter" – 4:28 Source:

Personnel

– writer, producer, lyrics, drums, piano, keyboards, bass, guitar, vocals * James Mercer – vocals (track 1) *

Ben Bridwell Benjamin Bridwell (born April 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. He is best known as the lead singer of the American rock band Band of Horses and a former member of the band Carissa's Wierd. Early life Br ...

– vocals (track 3) * Luke Steele – vocals (track 5) *

– vocals (track 6) *

– pedal steel guitar (track 6) *

– guitar (track 6) *

– vocals (track 7) *

– piano, keyboards (track 7) *

(track 8) *

(track 9)

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums