"Screenery" moves from a gentle, chimey opening into almost Friends of Dean Martinez-like afternoon pop. "Majik Fugue Real Estate" inspires anything but the frantic note gluttony of its 17th century forbears. There's counterpoint aplenty, though. What sounds like singing birds evolves into a tennis game-like exchange of subtle electronic surges, before an orchestra of effects swell into the only identifiable tension on the record. Even "Fatigue" has the feel of drowsy, impending resolution, the good glow of rest that only comes at the end of exhaustion.
The trio grew up and formed a band together in Phoenix, then headed, variously, to the UA, the University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State University. They reunite only on school breaks and exchange mixes and ideas via e-mail. Birdsong has been in the works that way since the summer of 2004.
Now I'm waiting for the first project composed entirely via cell phone. I expect it will come from a pack of middle schoolers, and it might just be lovely.
