The Bird and the Bee emerged from their retro nest in 2006, flaunting a sort of contemporary space-age pop that relied on Inara George's voice -- a jazzy, soft soprano in the vein of Norah Jones and Priscilla Ahn -- and Greg Kurstin's production chops. The combination celebrated outmoded genres without losing a modern edge, and the Bird and the Bee scored a chart-topping club single ("Fucking Boyfriend") while simultaneously courting the NPR crowd. Several years later, the Bird and the Bee take a grounded approach to their sophomore effort, Ray Guns are Not Just the Future, which sports nary a club single (much less an expletive-filled song title). This is pure NPR music, all neo-jazz melodies and martini-lounge flourishes without the sly bite of its predecessor. George is still a cunning vocalist, pledging her evergreen love to David Lee Roth on "Diamond Dave" and courteously seducing her listener on "Polite Dance Song" ("I try to be as coy as I can, but I want to see your naughty bit"), yet her melodies remain reliant on Kurstin's orchestrations, which sound considerably more relaxed this time around. He churns out retro-minded backdrops like a hipster Burt Bacharach, veering between elegant orchestration and dancefloor percussion (with an emphasis on the former), and his productions are striking in spite of the band's general rallentando. Nonetheless, it's hard to shake the notion that he gave his best hooks to Lily Allen, whose own sophomore album (featuring Kurstin's production and co-writing credits) was released two weeks after Ray Guns. Those in the market for fast songs will find a few here, most notably "Love Letter to Japan" and "Meteor," but the album's true gems are its slightly slower numbers: the elegiac "My Love," "Birthday," "Polite Dance Song," and the stringed splendor of "Baby."
Finally, after two years of trying, I managed to see my current Numero Uno musical act The Bird and The Bee in concert. And it was as satisfying as I could have hoped.Trusted MOGgers, lurkers, and accidental visitors to my MOG page might've noticed my fondness for this Los Angeles techno-cabaret duo comprised of singer Inara George and instrumentalist Gerg Kurstin - an affection that was trigge...
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The Bird And The Bee is brain child of Inara George, whose beautiful vocal harmonies and creative compositions fuel a very interesting album, that has ventured into an emerging genre of "aware" rock or pop. The music has a lot of knowledge and talent behind it [...]
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Alright, so I know it's been a while since my last post, but I figured the mixed reviews this album was getting was enough reason to bring me out of hiding.I won't begin to claim that this is without preconcieved notions. I'd listened to the self-titled album and frankly... I really enjoyed it. The 60s pop meets Indie Electronica with Inara George's glorious voice intrigued me from the start. I...
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Get your Friday Facial from Glorious Noise in the ongoing series, Faces Don't Lie: Expressive Record Reviews with Dylan Burr.
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Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is the new sophomore release from indie duo The Bird And The Bee. The group, consisting of Inara George and Greg Kurstin, create '60s-inspired dance pop. An electronic undercurrent mutates the music into a futuristic twee pop. The album opens with a bang with the synth-heavy intro song "Fanfare" and rarely disengages from there. The ooo la la la's on tracks
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The vigilant MOGger, producer and music-biz insider Robin Danar alerted me that my beloved Inara George and her musical partner Greg Kurstin - über-hip, jazzy, techno-poppy Los Angeles-based duo The Bird and The Bee - will be appearing this evening on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The aim is, no doubt, to promote their delightful new album Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, which is sc..
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Finally, after two years of trying, I managed to see my current Numero Uno musical act The Bird and The Bee in concert. And it was as satisfying as I could have hoped.Trusted MOGgers, lurkers, and accidental visitors to my MOG page might've noticed my fondness for this Los Angeles techno-cabaret duo comprised of singer Inara George and instrumentalist Gerg Kurstin - an affection that was trigge...
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In addition to my relief at the coming of a new year, I also have the thrill of anticipating new music by a recent favorite. Which is my way of saying:Woo-hoo! The second full-length album by Los Angeles art-pop duo The Bird and The Bee - singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin - is almost here!I'll have to wait until the end of January for the official release of The Bird an...
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I just can't seem to get enough of the new The Bird And The Bee's album 'Rayguns Are Not Just The Future'. There are numerous songs on this album that I adore but one that keeps me smiling over & over again everytime I hear it is their song called 'Diamond Dave'. Inara sings about her youthful idolization of David Lee Roth of the band Van Halen. Push that bright red button atop the post & wonde...
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Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is the new sophomore release from indie duo The Bird And The Bee. The group, consisting of Inara George and Greg Kurstin, create '60s-inspired dance pop. An electronic undercurrent mutates the music into a futuristic twee pop. The album opens with a bang with the synth-heavy intro song "Fanfare" and rarely disengages from there. The ooo la la la's on tracks
More >
photo: Autumn de Wilde Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, the new album by jazz pop duo The Bird and The Bee drops January 27 on Blue Note Records.Tracks:FanfareMy LoveDiamond DaveWhat's in the MiddleRay GunLove Letter to JapanMeteorBabyPhilPolite Dance SongYou're a CadWitchBirthdayLifespan of a FlyLive dates:09/28 Great Scott | Boston, MA09/29 Iron Horse | Northampton, MA09/30 Spiegeltent | Ne...
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Alright, so I know it's been a while since my last post, but I figured the mixed reviews this album was getting was enough reason to bring me out of hiding.I won't begin to claim that this is without preconcieved notions. I'd listened to the self-titled album and frankly... I really enjoyed it. The 60s pop meets Indie Electronica with Inara George's glorious voice intrigued me from the start. I...
More >
Still a huge fan of The Bird and The Bee, I have been patiently awaiting their sophomore album, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, which is due out Jan. 27th. Continuing to keep things fresh, this time around they've managed to produce tracks that are much more danceable and funky, that is to [...]
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The Bird And The Bee is brain child of Inara George, whose beautiful vocal harmonies and creative compositions fuel a very interesting album, that has ventured into an emerging genre of "aware" rock or pop. The music has a lot of knowledge and talent behind it [...]
More >
Can't Wait to see this band on Wednesday!!!
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Welcome to the latest installment of a quasi-regular series, the Cellar Door, where we go back and take a look at something we missed when it first hit the scene.When it comes to music, my girlfriend, Laura, and I have a sometimes-tenuous relationship. She grew up on certain genres that I, uh, don’t like and I grew up on good music. I often make fun of how she likes to listen to the music of .
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Get your Friday Facial from Glorious Noise in the ongoing series, Faces Don't Lie: Expressive Record Reviews with Dylan Burr.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Fanfare |
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| 2 My Love |
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| 3 Diamond Dave |
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| 4 What's in the Middle |
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| 5 Ray Gun |
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| 6 Love Letter to Japan |
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| 7 Meteor |
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| 8 Baby |
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| 9 Phil Polite |
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| 10 Dance Song |
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| 11 You're a Cad |
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| 12 Witch |
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| 13 Birthday |
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| 14 Lifespan of a Fly |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future")
