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Spotlight

The Bird and the Bee

Who? The Bird and the Bee are comprised of producer/keyboardist Greg Kurstin and songstress Inara George, who initially covered jazz standards together before writing original tunes. Hailing from Los Angeles, the quirky indie pop duo creates chill fusion music easily doubling as lounge fodder on their eponymous debut, released via Blue Note Records.

What’s the Deal? The Bird and the Bee is eclectic, vibrant art rock merging the freeform ideology of jazz with the futuristic blips and bleeps of electronica. The moods and feelings expressed are as varied as the deep list of musical influences, from Everything but the Girl to baroque pop. George’s croon is calm within the endearing music box-grace of “Preparedness,” yet conveys a contrasting tongue-in-cheek edge on “Fucking Boyfriend” and “I Hate Camera.”

Fun Fact: George reportedly inherits her love of jazz standards and eccentric songwriting from her father, Lowell. In the ’70s, he was the principle songwriter/guitarist for the southern-rock outfit Little Feat and also a veteran of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention collective. ELIE Z. PERLER

Now Hear This:
The Bird and the Bee – “Again & Again” DOWNLOAD MP3

Talk: Would you teach your kids about these birds and bees?

On SPIN.com:
Artist of the Day: Inara George

On the Web:
The Bird and the Bee at myspace.com