New Music From the Bird and the Bee

Recreational Love, the long-anticipated fourth album from The Bird and the Bee, reflects the easy intimacy of this collaboration between vocalist Inara George (of indie-folk supergroup Living Sisters) and Greg Kurstin (a Grammy-nominated producer who has worked with the likes of Beck, Sia, and the Flaming Lips). Dreamlike and dance-heavy, the new album adds hints of smooth R&B grooves to the duo’s light, retro pop sound that Entertainment Weekly once described as “space-age pop that cunningly combines bossa nova languidity with Beach Boys-style lushness.”

“Will You Dance?” is a bouncy, bass-heavy, and irresistibly catchy empowerment anthem for introverts, while “Runaway” finds George snaking her way through a strutting bassline as she takes on the persona of a Graduate-style seductress, and the soulful title track is a beat-driven number that reflects on the hurt that comes from no-strings-attached romances. “We don’t ever want to feel like we’re too cool for anything,” says George in explaining The Bird and the Bee’s aesthetic sensibilities. “Being cool can stunt you, but Greg knows how to take it right to the edge, then play along those edges.”

“While still playful and coquettish, George has never sounded stronger vocally; with every jazzy horn, wonky synth and tropical rhythm, though, the new songs fly to unexpected places.”
-Buzzbands

“Building crisp pop imbibements that can stand up to several listens is no easy task, but the Bird and the Bee has found the trick: Complex melodies constructed of several simple, shiny parts, all revolving around George’s breathy voice.”
-LA Times

RIYL: Chairlift, She & Him, Jenny Lewis, Au Revoir Simone, Feist, Sia, Belle & Sebastian, Pomplamoose, Beck

Recommended Tracks: Track 1, “Young and Dumb,” Track 2, “Recreational Love,” Track 3, “Will You Dance?,” Track 4, “Runaway,” Track 7, “Los Angeles.”

Label: Rostrum Records

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