Legend has it - and by legend, I mean press kit - that the electronic duo Arms and Sleepers sprung from an incident in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, alleyway. A dying man clutching a cassette player passed away while the tape continued to play. The music sounded like a gospel choir, and mixed with some jazz coming from down the street, inspired the wash of ambient, melancholy, trance-inducing sounds that would become Arms and Sleepers. The duo's dreamy vocals are pleasant and pretty, if not happy, and at live shows, visuals join the mix. "Soothing" is a good word for the most recent album, "Black Paris 86." Listen to it for the first time, and your eyelids just might droop and threaten to close. But that's a good thing; you can alternately dance or nap to the album, depending on your mood. My guess is you won't be napping at the show.

Arms and Sleepers performs Thursday, August 21, 8 p.m. at Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave. $6-$8. 454-2966.