A Striking Realization: The Bird and the Bee

Inara George and Greg Kurstin, the duo that comprises The Bird and the Bee, did not know one another five years ago, and it was mere business that brought them together in the first place. Kurstin was to produce George’s 2005 album All Rise, and it was in doing so that the two met and began to form the relationship that has now given us The Bird and the Bee. “Fucking Boyfriend,” a song in which its shocking title is far less distracting than the electronic influenced take on an electric organ ode to a relationship which consumes all. Its beauty and simplicity are found in the low key harmonies that suggest a relationship should be more, not less; a theme that surprises in an age still influenced by Alanis Morissette’s and Fiona Apple’s.

Kurstin, a highly acclaimed pianist, provides a sultry organ backing that allows for George to overcome the listener with her sugar coated vocals. Defining her as such is far from fair, however, as tracks such as “I’m a Broken Heart” teeter close to that of Beth Gibbons—striking Portishead fans with the realization that while anticipation grows for an album that may or may not ever come, there are those who are able to attempt to take the group’s place.