“Majesty of the Majestic” opens with the distinctive drone of an electronic Indian sruti box layered with clay ocarina bird calls. These textures mark the passage into a world of ancient power and sensuous contemplation. An autoharp strum and breathy voice break through in long syrupy glissando.

I’m the result of two random organisms, an in and out.

I’m a result of the rain and the wind, the black and white.

Through truth, the light.

Don’t fright as I might.

This is the sonic tapestry of The Humminbird. Muyassar Kurdi, a linguistics graduate student in Chicago, IL has set herself apart as a beatific staple of the DIY scene. Wrapped in vague poetic mists like an arabic scarf, her music is evocative of other artists of mystery: Mazzy Star, Vashti Bunyan, and Selda Bağcan.

With your head on my abdomen, it’s the only thing that feels perpetual.

The Humminbird lilts and glides through topics varied and timeless. From the pleasures of love to the heartbreak of the lost, the content is poetic and archetypal. Harmonium, lap harp, bells and vocal overdubs pass through a catacombs of effects pedals with the dimensionality of a lost temple.

From the psyche-pop croons of “Two Random Organisms”, to the gothic church bell dulcitones of “Towns People”, and the midnight manifesto of “Adorned with Feathers”, Kurdi has assembled a palate of exotic sonic fragrances into an audible perfume.

The line “I do not expect to graze the sky with my fingers” reveals a contentedly imperfect existence in a brokenly perfect world, in which all are lone wolves. We wander together, weaving in and out of our life paths through the dark woods of experience.

~Kyle Klipowicz