Magnolia

As the Wooden Birds, singer/songwriter Andrew Kenny continues the minimal, repetition-heavy moves he pursued in American Analog Set. Eschewing his former coterie's angular guitar sound, his Birds give flight to sparse, mostly acoustic material. Minimal percussion provides a firm backing to the sometimes-folk, sometimes-pop songs, all coated in Kenny's ethereal vocals. He sings fragile melodies as low-key as his music, sounding like a toned down Ben Gibbard or Superchunk's Mac McCaughan. This approach works on the solemn "Anna Paula" and the brooding "Bad." Yet much of the material begs for memorable melodies, perhaps a bit of a rave-up or divergent musical moment would have helped. Though the songs' repetitive nature can be hypnotic, they don't leave much of an impact. A musician this attuned to the challenging potential of music can surely produce a record less prosaic.

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