Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird These 13 LP

For the first time in decades, Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird have come together to announce a brand new album. These 13 is about the special type of human connection that can survive any distance of time or geography. As former collaborators in Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mathus and Bird's friendship dates back 25 years, but at the turn of the century their career paths diverged. Both became highly accomplished, acclaimed and prolific solo artists, and though they remained close friends, they did not return to musical collaboration until 2018, when they started exchanging the fragments that grew into this set of 13 songs.

Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird co-wrote all of These 13, sharing voice memos, finishing each other's musical thoughts. Across the album they reveal themselves to one another again, and the conversation that unfolds is personal and profound. Produced by Mike Viola, the first half of the album was recorded in early 2019, and the second half was finished in early 2020. Every song was recorded live to analog tape, with Mathus and Bird singing and playing on opposite sides of a lone RCA 44 microphone.

Reflecting on the album, the award-winning author Michael Farris Smith writes: "These 13 is a little bit folk, a little bit gospel, a little bit bluesy, a little bit Hank, a little bit hill country, but most emphatically, it is all heart. Andrew Bird and Jimbo Mathus have climbed the height of their creative ladders in this collection of soul-strung songs, both lyrically and musically, a synchronicity between the two that feels joined in some special imaginative place that can only be visited by the best of songwriters."

[A]s a spare, deeply felt effort that reveals how much Mathus and Bird love and respect roots music and one another's talents, These 13 is something truly special....These 13 has little to do with Mathus and Bird recalling past glories, and much more to do with the beauty and mysteries of the music of the American South. Anyone who wonders why they love this stuff so much need only listen to this splendid album to find all the answers.