Easily his most aggressive and consistent album to date, Strange Birds represents a fresh new direction for David Usher, and highlights his introspective lyrical style without sacrificing the commanding intensity of the voice he brings to the stage.

“Everything has a different energy live,” he explains, “and on this record I really wanted to isolate that thing that makes the show work and get that on the recorded versions.”

By refusing to be tied to recordings of his songs and constantly re-imagining them to maximize their impact in concert, David has gained a reputation as one of Canada’s most dynamic performers. On Strange Birds, he takes that ethic to the studio, re-evaluating his music every step of the way, to ensure the songs on the final record were as compelling to him as they had been when freshly written.

From the writing/arrangement process in August 2005, David focused on making the record as cohesive as possible, testing and re-testing new material in a series of small NYC club shows and intensive rehearsals with his Toronto based band. That focus helped David’s long time collaborator, Byron Wong (producer) and LA based Brian Malouf (David Grey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Pink), who provided additional production and mixed the record, to capture the singer’s unique presence like never before. The result is a lush, guitar driven sound that allowed the veteran singer/songwriter to stretch as a writer, guitar player, and performer.

With their undeniable hooks and relentless grooves, songs like “The Music,” “Spotlight On” and “Brilliant” set the tone early in pre-production. Inspired by the ease of translating those songs from stage to studio David continued writing well into the final stage of mastering of the record. “I spent a lot of time re-writing and throwing out a lot of things to make the songs work together.”

If a song didn’t pass muster it was abandoned. Even material that was thoroughly worked over live wasn’t guaranteed to survive recording and could be bumped by stronger, fresher material. Some tracks, like “White Flag,” “So Far Down” and “Some People Say,” came late in the game, but so solidified the record’s sound and perfectly underscored the sentiments of David’s lyrics this time out, that they had to be included.

Embracing change has always been an important element of David’s creative process, and never more so than on Strange Birds. But as much as he values change as a creative tool, David is intensely aware of how isolating its pace can be – how, in a world that increasingly seems to favour extremes over the middle ground, it’s easy for people who fall between those extremes to feel powerless.

Taken from the song “Life Of Bees,” the album’s title is meant as an encouraging nod to anyone who has felt lost in the swirl and uncertainty of modern life. “It's about finding things to hang on to, so people who feel abandoned can still feel they have a voice and a future.”

As for David, what lays in his immediate future is simple – Beginning mid-March 07 he and his band will take Strange Birds on the road and give it new life on as many stages as possible along the way.

Fast Facts:

International and domestic sales of David’s records are in excess of 1.3 million units.

He has won 5 Junos including 2002 Pop Album of the year and has had multiple #1 and Top Ten radio singles in Canada. David has also had “top ten” and “top twenty” radio singles in England, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Israel, Greece, Italy, France, The Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.

David has traveled to Burma for WarChild to film a documentary on children affected by war. He has performed for Fashion Cares and is presently part of the campaign to Make Poverty History. David has recently finished a cover version of John Lennon’s “Watching The Wheels” for Amnesty International, which will be released on Amnesty’s “make some noise” web site in February 2007.

The first show with David’s current touring band was a benefit in Manhattan’s East Village for Women Who Pave The Way, honouring Gloria Steinem, Margarita Lopez and Margaritte Malfy on January 10, 2007.

Strange Birds is slated for release March 20, 2007. The album’s first single, “The Music” has exploded out of the gate with major market adds in its first 2 weeks. No doubt it will soon be another Top 10 hit for David.