Bird Show - Untitled

Untitled (2008, Kranky) Bird Show's third studio album. ***

Experimental artists tend to polarize critics; half feel almost obligated to praise them because they don't understand them and feel like the music could unknowingly be influential in some obscure way. The other half despise them simply because they don't understand them, and the buck stops there. Untitled is an experimental album, no doubt, of world music with a focus on percussion. And as a result, it sounds like an experiment. Take that as you will, but while Untitled is very clean and together, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of thought going into the extended numbers like "Percussion and Voice." Bird Show has created an album that's not necessarily difficult to listen to, but will certainly only have an acquired and limited audience. A decent effort.