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CD review: The Bird and the Bee
By Christopher Gilmore
cgilmo10@mscd.edu

The Bird and the Bee The Bird and the Bee (Metro Blue, 2007)

The anticipation of summer is something that can get a student through the last stressful month of the semester. The Bird and the Bee’s self-titled album is the perfect reminder of the lazy summer days to come.

The debut album on Blue Note Records has more to do with summer than the clever band name. The innocent crispness of Inara George’s vocals combined with the jazz-influenced electronic landscape of Greg Kurstin exemplifies all the goodness that comes with the end of classes.

While the world of college radio pop respects jazz music from a distance, the Bird and the Bee have invited the founding fathers of cool back to the fold. The first listen of the album seems to hide the jazz influences under the electronic beats. Yet, on closer inspection, it is a jazz keyboard producing the majority of the beats instead of a computer program.

The simple structure that the Bird and the Bee follow in their songs allows for a wide range of possibilities. The songs usually start with an introduction of a simple beat or melody that shrinks to the background to form the foundation upon which all other melodies and harmonies are built. As the verse begins, the music increases, leading to the explosion of the chorus just around the corner. The chorus brings the song up to another level before settling down back into the rhythm of the verse. The similarities between the songs are merely structural, as the music styling varies as much as the themes the duo explores.

In the song “La La La” a simple keyboard bounces from the left speaker to the right and back to the left, creating a disorienting effect. The listener’s head is swimming from the confusion when a jubilation of sounds comes crashing over the keyboard. The instrumentation consists of handclaps, tambourines, spurts of quick acoustic guitar, the triangle and an electronic organ. Even the vocals become an instrument when Inara George echoes “la la la” to support her own lyrics. The innocence in her voice is like a newly bloomed flower in a garden of dry dirt. The appeal of it is rivaled only by the catchiness of the songs.

The duo has introspective lyrics that are easy to relate to but not deep enough to alienate light thinkers. There are songs on the album for all occasions. It has the perfect songs for a Fourth of July party and also a mellow evening watching the stars in the mountains. If summers are only as good as the album that represents them, then the Bird and the Bee’s self-titled album is the perfect way to make this summer memorable.