Break It Yourself

Break It Yourself is the sixth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, released on March 5, 2012, through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK.^[1] The track "Lusitania" features a duet with St. Vincent.^[2]

Break It Yourself
Studio album by Andrew Bird
Released	March 5, 2012
Genre	Indie rock baroque pop
Length	60:20
Label	Mom + Pop (US) Bella Union (UK)
Producer	Andrew Bird, David Boucher
Andrew Bird chronology
Fingerlings 4 (2010) Break It Yourself (2012) Hands of Glory (2012)
Singles from Break it Yourself
"Eyeoneye"

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	(A-)[5]
The Guardian	[6]
Pitchfork	(7.5/10)[7]
PopMatters	(5/10)[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Beats Per Minute	(79%)[10]

The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic, the album has received an average review score of 80/100, based on 33 reviews.^[3]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 10, which is Bird's first top 10 entry in the chart, selling 30,000 copies in the first week.^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Desperation Breeds..."		5:30
2.	"Polynation"		0:45
3.	"Danse Caribe"		5:19
4.	"Give It Away"		4:31
5.	"Eyeoneye"		4:07
6.	"Lazy Projector"		4:59
7.	"Near Death Experience Experience"		4:29
8.	"Behind the Barn"		1:04
9.	"Lusitania"	Bird, Annie Clark	4:04
10.	"Orpheo Looks Back"		4:55
11.	"Sifters"	Bird, Sharon Lanza	4:13
12.	"Fatal Shore"		5:06
13.	"Hole in the Ocean Floor"		8:18
14.	"Belles"		3:00

Other appearances

• Versions of "Danse Caribe", "Eyeoneye", and "Sifters" appear on Fingerlings 4. They are titled "Danse Carribe", "Oh Baltimore", and "The Sifters" respectively.
• A slower version of "Orpheo Looks Back" (called "Orpheo") appears on Hands of Glory.

Personnel

Band

• Andrew Bird – violin, guitar, vocals, whistling
• Martin Dosh – drums
• Jeremy Ylvisaker – guitar, keyboards, background vocals
• Mike Lewis – bass, tenor saxophone, background vocals

Additional musicians

• J. T. Bates – drums on "Danse Caribe"
• Annie Clark (St. Vincent) – vocals on "Lusitania", courtesy of 4AD
• Nora O'Connor - vocal harmonies on "Give It Away", "Lazy Projector", "Near Death Experience Experience", "Fatal Shore"
• Simone White – vocal harmony on "Desperation Breeds"
• Wendy Lewis – cooking, moral support

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12]	84
French Albums (SNEP)[13]	137
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14]	79
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[15]	63
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	100
US Billboard 200[17]	10
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[18]	1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[19]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20]	3
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[21]	3
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[22]	2