Soaring and Buzzing
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
Although I would have probably come upon them sooner or later, a posting by trusted MOGger Blair a.k.a. SatisfiedMind614 introduced me to the multi-faceted cool of The Bird and The Bee – a Los Angeles-based duo comprised of singer Inara George and producer-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin. (And hearty thanks unto you, Blair.)I glommed onto their eponymous debut album, which was released in late January on Blue Note – the jazz-oriented label that struck platinum in the pop market with Norah Jones. The B & B recording is gorgeous -- '60s French yé-yé girl vocalizing meets breezy bossa nova meets languid L.A. jazz meets electronic dream-pop meets post-mod irony on the battlefield of urban romance. And it’s endlessly catchy and soothing, which encourages repeated listening.Last week, I was mega-pleased to learn that The Bird and The Bee will be opening for saucy Brit-pop thrush Lily Allen (another current favorite) when she plays San Francisco’s Fillmore at the beginning of April. I made arrangements for access, and have since continued to drink in The Bird and The Bee album.
Greg Kurstin and Inara George of The Bird and The Bee.Now, here’s a bit of surprising genealogy. Inara happens to be the daughter of the late Little Feat singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George. Lowell - who died in 1979 after falling ill in his Arlington, Virginia hotel room while on tour - was a man of prodigious appetites and tempestuous moods, and a performer whose band’s musical style – a mix of rockabilly boogie, folk-rock, improvisational jazz, and rollicking Tex-Mex – was completely balls-to-the-wall. If the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the winsome Ms. George rolled a bit further from the trunk than one would expect.In 2004, Inara - whose airy vocal style could be favorably compared to that of Brazil’s Astrud Gilberto – released All Rise, a charming solo album that includes a duet with her godfather, L.A. singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. But her team-up with session whiz/Geggy Tah band member Kurstin is even more distinctive.I was instantly taken in by the intoxicating lure of the opening track “Again and Again,” with its delicate piano intro, gently strummed guitar, fuzz bass, and George’s perfect lyrical depiction of the push-and-pull that can characterize a love affair. “I’m a Broken Heart” recalls the late ‘60s collaboration of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, circa “Smile," or Burt Bacharach and Hal David in all their lush, orchestral glory. You get candy-colored psychedelia from “La La La”; dark, minimalist electro-angst from “Because”; and a surging Euro-disco pulse from “Preparedness.” They even tread into the narrative territory of Michel Legrand (”The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”) on the yearning “My Fair Lady” wherein a young woman navigates the perils of the big city. If Inara’s lovely, wordless quasi-classical intro to “I Hate Camera” sounds like an outtake from an old Swingle Singers album, the machine beats and bitter words that follow bring you into 2007. And speaking of au courant, who did they get to do a remix of Inara’s blunt plea for a “Fucking Boyfriend” but X-rated techno-diva Peaches?A few days ago, I was at a screening of “Year of the Dog” - the new, off-kilter comedy from writer-director Mike White, who wrote the scripts for “The School of Rock” and “The Good Girl” – and there was Inara in a small role. She was fine. Nice presence and all. I just don’t want her to get too much film work. I need her and Kurstin to record another album as soon as they can. Again, please.
Greg Kurstin and Inara George of The Bird and The Bee.Now, here’s a bit of surprising genealogy. Inara happens to be the daughter of the late Little Feat singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George. Lowell - who died in 1979 after falling ill in his Arlington, Virginia hotel room while on tour - was a man of prodigious appetites and tempestuous moods, and a performer whose band’s musical style – a mix of rockabilly boogie, folk-rock, improvisational jazz, and rollicking Tex-Mex – was completely balls-to-the-wall. If the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the winsome Ms. George rolled a bit further from the trunk than one would expect.In 2004, Inara - whose airy vocal style could be favorably compared to that of Brazil’s Astrud Gilberto – released All Rise, a charming solo album that includes a duet with her godfather, L.A. singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. But her team-up with session whiz/Geggy Tah band member Kurstin is even more distinctive.I was instantly taken in by the intoxicating lure of the opening track “Again and Again,” with its delicate piano intro, gently strummed guitar, fuzz bass, and George’s perfect lyrical depiction of the push-and-pull that can characterize a love affair. “I’m a Broken Heart” recalls the late ‘60s collaboration of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, circa “Smile," or Burt Bacharach and Hal David in all their lush, orchestral glory. You get candy-colored psychedelia from “La La La”; dark, minimalist electro-angst from “Because”; and a surging Euro-disco pulse from “Preparedness.” They even tread into the narrative territory of Michel Legrand (”The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”) on the yearning “My Fair Lady” wherein a young woman navigates the perils of the big city. If Inara’s lovely, wordless quasi-classical intro to “I Hate Camera” sounds like an outtake from an old Swingle Singers album, the machine beats and bitter words that follow bring you into 2007. And speaking of au courant, who did they get to do a remix of Inara’s blunt plea for a “Fucking Boyfriend” but X-rated techno-diva Peaches?A few days ago, I was at a screening of “Year of the Dog” - the new, off-kilter comedy from writer-director Mike White, who wrote the scripts for “The School of Rock” and “The Good Girl” – and there was Inara in a small role. She was fine. Nice presence and all. I just don’t want her to get too much film work. I need her and Kurstin to record another album as soon as they can. Again, please.
Comments (12)