Andrew Bird has been in the music business for a long time. The Chicago-based, multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter was an auxiliary member of Squirrel Nut Zippers and has released six studio albums, both solo and with his former group the Bowl of Fire. It wasn’t until 2005, though, that Andrew really broke through to a notable-sized audience.

That year he released his sixth studio album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, his first and only release on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. Artistically, he showed off stunning new ways to incorporate strings into complex pop songs and introduced many newcomers to his vocal and lyrical talents. Critical praise and award nominations followed and soon he went from playing clubs to playing prominent theatres, auditoriums and festivals.

Now, Andrew’s back and set to release his seventh studio album, Armchair Apocrypha, on March 20th. The majority of the tracks were recorded in Minneapolis and feature several collaborators from the surrounding music scene. According to his latest bio, the album “sums up where Andrew’s career has taken him, yet is completely very much of his artistic present.”

Based on the new track, “Heretic,” it sounds like he’ll be back to his old tricks — violin gliding and picking, sweet crooning, a sing-along hook and an unlikely mix of chamber pop and rock — which bodes well for the rest of the album.

In addition to an opportunity to download an MP3 of Andrew Bird's "Heretic," here's your chance to preview the final tracklisting for Armchair Apocrypha:
1. Fiery Crash
2. Imitosis
3. Plasticities
4. Heretics
5. Armchairs
6. Dark Matter
7. Simple X
8. The Supine
9. Cataracts
10. Scythian Empires
11. Spare-ohs
12. Yawny at the Apocalypse