Calling Audio Out Send's music lush is like calling a tree green -- it's the most obvious hook, but there's much more to explore. The group draws as much from psych-popsters like Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips as they do from classic songwriters like Neil Young and Tom Waits, with a little splash of organic electro thrown in for good measure (think Múm). A Broad Connection isn't necessarily the band's follow-up to 2003's ...Or Does It Explode?; it's actually the first of a series of episodic EPs.

The idea is to crystallize a mood or style for each EP, and that's where Audio Out Send succeeds: A Broad Connection is a superbly crafted collection that easily hones in on a contemplative vibe. Singer Benjamin Jennings -- who's credited with "words and ideas", so identifying him as the vocalist may be premature -- gives an understated performance, delivering lyrics like "Something's falling down / Around the golden skin / All the counted edges / Now have folded in" (from the excellent "Wizards Of The Way Station") over an ethereal arrangement of acoustic guitars, electronic effects and light synthesized noise. The results don't crackle and pop so much as they beckon and smile, encouraging you to dig deeper. Elsewhere, "Oakland Seas"' piano innocently references recent Death Cab For Cutie, while opener "A Broad Connection / In Our Heads"'s subdued electronic flourishes and processed guitar comes closest to a straight-up marriage of psych-pop and organic electro.

A Broad Connection won't demand your attention, but its quietness and focus on mood should not be ignored.