Superstitious MP3s

In a photo taken at their debut performance, the duo known as 2&, consisting of Heather Heise (musewings.blogspot.com) and Roddy Schrock (fundamentallysound.org), are seen standing side by side, eight eyes between ’em, looking off camera, all smiles. She’s holding a thumb piano and he’s dangling over it a microphone the size of a burrito. Two downloadable tracks on their website, fundamentallysound.org/2&, hint at what they’re up to. And though their self-descriptive text emphasizes the overlap between visual and audio, the audio alone makes a strong enough impact. “New Superstitions” (MP3) features Heise’s delectably crisp enunciation of the title subject, including admonitions against encountering police and recommendations about sardine bones and toothpicks. The accompanying sounds mix quotidian background noise and event-specific cues, like the militaristic planes that telegraph and illustrate the reference to police. The second track, “Bird Beat Song” (MP3), likewise features vocals, but muted to the point of sublimation, hinting at human presence without ever fully disclosing it; the opening birdsong eventually gives way to dance floor beats, suggesting we’ve gone from above ground to under. … Oh, and you can see the photo on flickr.com.