The Swimming Hour

By all rights The Swimming Hour should be a mess. There’s just too much going into it to possibly work. But against all odds, out of a wildly eclectic range of influences, Andrew Bird and his cronies finesse a seamless sound that teems with energy and emotion. Despite frequent comparisons to the Squirrel Nut Zippers (with whom Bird has played quite a bit), the BOF sound both more ambitious and more natural than the Zips as they try their hands at ’60s garage-rock (“Core & Rind”), smoky Harlem jazz (“Why?”), Western swing (“Too Long”), raucous R&B (“Satisfied”), and classic soul (“Headsoak”). It’s their extravagantly orchestrated pop which really stands out, though. Hints of Pet Sounds, Sgt. Peppers’, Odelay, and the dark, demented balladry of Nick Cave peek from the corners of “Two Way Action,” “11:11,” “Case in Point,” and “Fatal Flower Garden,” but, amazingly, the resulting confections feel like little we’ve come across before. Inventive, impassioned, and surprisingly welcoming, The Swimming Hour is a needle in the pop-music haystack that’s worth digging out.