Track listing

1. "Birdo" – 3:21
2. "A Million Exploding Suns" – 4:03
3. "Manateen" – 5:06
4. "The House of Boo" – 3:59
5. "Heroes Die" – 3:22
6. "Softer Sounds" – 3:37
7. "Octopus on Fire" – 4:26
8. "Soaring Quails" – 1:06
9. "Taken by Vultures" – 1:32
10. "A Rusty Glove" – 4:31
11. "Sand" – 4:22
12. "Lord Gold Throneroom" – 5:09
13. "The Black Hole" – 5:33

Personnel

• Nathan Winneke – vocals
• David Isen – guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  
• Erik "Lord Gold" Engstrom – keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  
• Dashiell "Dash" Arkenstone – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Eli Green – drums

Allusions

• The title "Birdo" is taken from the video game character Birdo
  Birdo
  Birdo, known in Japan as , is a fictional character in the Mario series of video games, who first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which was localized for English audiences as Super Mario Bros. 2 and is an enemy to Mario...
  
  , from the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. 2
  Super Mario Bros. 2
  Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
  
  . The intro of the song is an audio clip from the animated film The Hobbit. The song is inspired by Nathan's treatment by his stepfather. There was a video made for the song in which the band play next to a grade school stage while kids put on a play entitled "HORSE the play" in which they also make reference to other songs on the album. Some people in online forums have criticised Irish rock band Snow Patrol
  Snow Patrol
  Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
  
   for their video "Signal Fire
  Signal Fire (song)
  "Signal Fire" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol, appearing on the soundtrack of the film Spider-Man 3, released on 24 April, 30 April, 2 May and 14 May 2007, depending on the region. It was the only single released from the soundtrack. The song was initially offered to Shrek...
  
  ", made two years later, in which the band similarly plays while a grade school play is in progress.
• "A Million Exploding Suns" is a reference to the Marvel
  Marvel Comics
  Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
  
   comic book character The Sentry
  Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
  The Sentry is a fictional character in the . The character first appears in The Sentry #1 and was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, with uncredited conceptual contributions by Rick Veitch.-Creation:...
  
  . The song also features a keyboard rendition of part of the first level theme song from the game Bionic Commando
  Bionic Commando (NES)
  Bionic Commando, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure video game released by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. It is loosely based on the 1987 arcade game Bionic Commando. In the game, the player has to explore each stage and obtain the necessary equipment to progress...
  
  .
• "The House of Boo" holds reference to the stage and home of the ghost characters, Boos, in several of the Mario video game series
  Mario (series)
  The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
  
  titles. It also includes the score used in the games. The song itself is actually about Nathan's childhood and an incident involving someone breaking into his home and the resulting trauma.
• The title of the album gives reference to the Mechanical Hound in the novel Fahrenheit 451. The Phoenix on the album cover is also a reference to the Phoenix crest worn by future firefighters in the novel.