Bird and Bee’s ‘Ray Guns’ has a few fun moments
On The Bird and the Bee’s second album, “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future,” the duo makes a fair enough trade-off in their sound: Gone are the jazz influences, the late-night wonderment, and the lustful allure that made their self-titled debut so enticing. In return, they flaunt a much greater variety in their songs, a more playful spirit, and a more immediate appeal. The result: Well, decent.
After their 2006 debut, singer Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin reached for a new sound over the course of two uninteresting EPs. They haven’t found anything to stick to on “Ray Guns,” but there is at least some fun to be had hearing them still trying. Their continuing quest for a massive single is perhaps the biggest influence on their sound this time. Not one hook here is as good as “Again & Again” — still their definitive song — but on songs like “My Love,” “Diamond Dave,” and “Love Letter to Japan,” the heavy drum loops and raved-up synthesizers take the lead, proving a desire for a big club hit (these songs, for what it’s worth, are the liveliest).
From there, it’s a mixed bag. Consistency isn’t one of the traits they’ve carried over or improved. Some old tricks still work best: “Ray Guns,” and even more notably “Meteor,” are lounge reboots carried only by cool vibes and George’s voice, which is perfectly suited for such mood pieces. She can still often sound too dainty, plain, even bored (“Baby,” “What’s In The Middle”), but she’s able to sell a few other tracks: Her innocence on the love plea “Birthday” makes the song’s simple sentiments pretty believable, and when sadly compactingand rationalizing mortality on the closer, “Lifespan of a Fly” (“I have no regrets for anything I’ve done/I feel I’ve lived just as good as anyone”), the stark simplicity of her voice ends the album on a note that’s surprisingly hard to shake off.
Producer Kurstin is still doing great work, fleshing every tracks out inventively, even when the actual song ends up letting down his creativity. And that does happen. When the album sinks, it sinks low. The horribly cheesy “You’re a Cad” might’ve been all right if it had been done with any kind of irony, but the album’s title is about is humorous as these two get. “Witch” and “Polite Dance Song” are worse. Even some of the album’s better moments might feel like slumming, but like the weak songs on their debut, it’s still too easy to tell when the duo just doesn’t care. There’s plenty on “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future” that’s simply hard for anyone not to like, even if the worst moments make you wish The Bird & The Bee actually had a good idea of what to go for before calling it a day. They could get a lot better or a lot worse from here, but for now, they’re coasting pretty well off their better attributes. KEY TRACKS: “My Love,” “Meteor”
Jason Silverstein is a senior at Williamsville North.
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