Discography
Put Up the Lights (LP)
Oct 23, 2020 | No Expectations & Release Me Records
A collection of the duo’s favorite holiday songs alongside new and original compositions.
Produced by Greg Kurstin. Engineered by Greg Kurstin and Julian Burg. Additional Engineering by Ed Reyes.
Recorded at No Expectations Studios, Hollywood, CA. Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound
All instruments by Greg Kurstin. Vocals by Inara George. Drums on Little Drummer Boy by Dave Grohl
Album artwork by Geoff McFetridge
Track Listing
1. You and I At Christmas Time
2. The Christmas Song
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Deck The Halls
5. Little Drummer Boy (feat. Dave Grohl)
6. Christmas Time Is Here
7. Merry Merry
8. Hallelujah Chorus
Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen (LP)
Aug 2, 2019 | No Expectations & Release Me Records
On their latest album, L.A.-based duo the bird and the bee cover of some of the most massive and magnificently wild songs from David Lee Roth-era Van Halen.
The fifth full-length from singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin, Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2: A Tribute to Van Halen both sheds new light on the glory of classic VH and further proves the playful brilliance of the bird and the bee. This time around, George and Kurstin find common ground with their source material in a shared affinity for fantastically intricate rhythms, unforgettable melodies, and—most essentially—a certain ecstatic spirit imbued into every song.
Recreational Love (LP)
July 17, 2015 | Rostrum, POlydor
“Running the gamut from giddy anthems ("Will You Dance?") to kid-approved lullaby coos ("Lovey Dovey"), Kurstin and George combine the muted sophistication of jazz with the undeniable people-pleasing qualities of synth-pop into one spritely package. After a decade together, the symbiotic relationship between these two continues to pay off, and Recreational Love is their slickest release yet.” ~Under the Radar
Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates (LP)
March 23, 2010 | Blue Note
“…retooled Hall & Oates' classic FM jams, reflecting the summery ease of Los Angeles instead of the choppy, blue-eyed soul of Philly.” - LA Times
”…a sleek 2010 tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates that traded upon new wave tropes but didn't succumb to trite nostalgia.” ~AllMusic
Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (EP)
January 27, 2009 | Blue Note
“The two-song sequence of “Ray Gun” and “Love Letter to Japan” is a prime example of The Bird and the Bee at their best. The two tracks’ lyricality and musical fun and are one good DJ away from club remixes. “Ray Gun” is 1990s trip-hop made even radio-friendlier than it already was. “Love Letter to Japan” has a fist-pounding “Ho ho ho ho!” refrain, choral background vocals and vocoded Japanese lyrics.” ~Consequence of Sound
“…cool electro-exotica flecked with global pop touches.” ~Pitchfork
One Too Many Hearts (EP)
February 12, 2008 | Blue Note
”In terms of class and craft…George and Kurstin are this generation’s Warwick and Bacharach. And with the digital-only One Too Many Hearts EP, they continue their cardioid trajectory, birthing another brilliant, spit-shined pop paean to the vagaries of love…One Too Many Hearts offers a scant four songs — one for each chamber of your heart — and yet within each there is a world of immaculate sonic detail.” ~Prefix
Please Clap Your Hands (EP)
September 25, 2007 | Blue Note
“… [Please Clap Your] Hands quickens the pace by adding more dance textures to Greg Kurstin's lush studio creations. "So You Say" swirls with garage rock-psychedelia, its summery riff pumped by a Farfisa organ, while "Man" mixes spacy sound effects with some of Kurstin's most involved percussion to date. Throughout it all, vocalist Inara George remains calm and collected…
This proves to be an interesting dichotomy; while Kurstin plays the bee and buzzes around the studio, George assumes a songbird's stance from an elevated, disengaged perch, her honeyed melodies driving the bee into fits of instrumental frenzy… When paired together -- Kurstin, the hyperactive composer, and George, the composed siren -- the Bird and the Bee become an engaging mix of yin and yang, jazz and electro-pop, Burt Bacharach and the Bee Gees (whose "How Deep Is Your Love" is reprised here).”
The Bird and the Bee (EP)
December 6, 2006 / Jan 23, 2007 | Blue Note
”Just because the Bird and the Bee's debut disc is out in January doesn't mean it can't make your year-end top 10. Consisting of California twosome Greg Kurstin and Inara George, this boy-girl combo expertly combines 50s vocal jazz, electronica and indie pop in a brilliantly catchy first effort. Fucking Boyfriend is full of infectious electro riffs, jazzy piano and a fantastically repetitive chorus, while My Fair Lady is a complex samba-infused tune that Feist will wish she'd written.” ~NOW Magazine
“The mix of ironic disinterest in Inara George’s vocals and slow-burning, hermetic romanticism in Greg Kurstin’s keyboards and production is pretty intoxicating when the songs are on the same page…most notably on the carnivalesque ‘My Fair Lady,’ the lust hung-over ‘Fucking Boyfriend,’ and the giddy ‘Again & Again.’” ~ Slant
Again and Again and Again and Again (EP)
October 23, 2006 | Blue Note
Again and Again and Again and Again…is short and genre-establishing; think gorgeous melody (acoustic guitars, tinges of electronics) and soft, innocent female vocal. Sound familiar? Au Revoir Simone's one recent touchpoint, though the Bird and the Bee are more West Coast -- all innocence and sunny optimism. "Again & Again", the best song on the album, pulls an unexpected, jumping melody that stays with you, over peppy acoustic strums. In general, expect well-conceived, pretty constructions of pop songs -- it's not a revelation, but it's enough...The band's supporting Sia in New York later this month, and the pairing's appropriate; both bands search for, and sometimes achieve, a breathy treble transcendence. ~PopMatters