Bird Show is the creation of Ben Vida, a musician who is not fearful of using whatever he can find to create interesting and intriguing sounds that can be put into quirky pop songs. Field on Water sounds like something Devendra Banhart might have attempted with the monotone harmonies and a series of chimes and handclaps. Singing about being unable to separate water from the waves, the track then moves into a slightly richer wall of sound, with a bass, guitar, and other effects sauntering in and out. Think of Violent Femmes or They Might Be Giants on sedatives and it would give you a clear understanding of what's going on here. Pilz takes you down a Middle Eastern-meets-psychedelic road with more sound samples interspersed throughout. Singing like he's off in the distance, Vida makes this a rather aquatic affair that seems perfect for some movie where the character is losing his mind. Perhaps the first rock-oriented song is the hypnotic Seeds, which builds on its primitive, tribal percussion slowly but steadily. Add a bagpipe-like sound into the mix and it only gets stranger but catchier. Another highlight, despite the rather annoying guitar feedback to start, is Beautiful Spring, which resembles Grandaddy if they were fascinated by musical triangles and wind instruments. One of the more thoughtful, moodier pieces has to be the title track, which comes off dreamy but dreary at the same time. Unfortunately it goes on far too long and dies a rather slow, agonizing death. One sleeper pick might be On the Beach, which gives Vida's vocals more clout while the mid-tempo backbeat and keyboard drone serve as nice complements. It's an earthy, folksy, roots-oriented type of track that's one of the album's highlights. Another solid effort is the coda Sleepers Keep Sleeping, which is based around a simple, campfire-like arrangement that is soft but strong, resulting in the lyrics taking on a mantra or chanting rhythm. ~ Jason MacNeil, Rovi

1		Field On Water
2		Pilz
3		Seeds
4		First Path Through
5		Beautiful Spring
6		Lightning Ghost
7		Greet the Morning
8		On the Beach
9		Sleepers Keep Sleeping

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