The collaboration between Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird, “These 13” is a loving tribute to old-style Americana, using the duo’s own new, original songs. Their virtuosity shines through this rustic recording despite being made with just the two of them and one microphone.  

Mathus and Bird were band mates in Squirrel Nut Zippers but that hot jazz sound is not what they are going for here. This album features them using old folk styles with, at times, extremely contemporary lyrics.

The album emphasizes their ability to play off each other’s strengths with Bird’s violin and Mathus’ guitar framing the mournful songs about jilted lovers and deadly card games like lore being passed down to the next generation.

Mathus and Bird are so in tune with each other on “These 13” that it’s a thrill to hear two aficionados of the folk genre completing each other’s musical sentences.

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