The hum is coming from H.E.R.

I’ve always dug what I’ve heard of the band Birdbrain – jittery horn-based rhythms being welcome in my life – so I checked out with interest this new band H.E.R., which contains two Birdbrain overlaps, singer Yvette Perez and trombonist Peter Zummo. (His Zummo with an X CD has been a mainstay on my stereo over the past year as well.)

The H.E.R. album is called Songs About the Mysteries of Housework and Nature, so clearly there are thematic ambitions here. I will leave it to other listeners to discuss those, save to say that the record conveys a distinct & effective atmosphere of anxiety.

Musically, it’s slower in tempo than the Birdbrain stuff I’ve heard, more contemplative, though still with an uneasy roil. Some of the tracks are, frankly, a little ethereal and chilly for my taste. But on others the tonal interplay of the vocals, trombone, and keyboards is fascinating – all those elements sinking into & rising up out of each other like shifting, sucking waves of quicksand. Looks calm and nearly motionless from afar but up close it’s dangerous. You lean over to listen closer and then you’re sinking too.

• H.E.R., “Unruly Place” (buy here)

Plus two related listens, one short and one long:

• Birdbrain, “Sea Cow” (buy I Fly here)

• Peter Zummo, “Sung, Played, Heard” (buy Experimenting with Household Chemicals here)