Send "The Bird And The Bee " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Avclub |
 The Bird And The Bee’s third album was originally titled Guiltless Pleasures before it became the even less ambiguous Interpreting The Masters, all of which is a pretty strong indication that the synth-pop duo’s album of Hall And Oates covers is executed with little to no irony. And rightfully so; thankfully, the patina of ironic appreciation that once coated the R&B powerhouse seems to have gone the way of John Oates’ signature mustache. Instead, The Bird And The Bee employ a genuine appreciation for Hall And Oates’ unassailable pop songcraft. Since vocalist Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin have pretty spot-on pop sensibilities themselves, it’s unsurprising that their faithful renderings of eight H&O hits are as listenable as their source material. The album’s one original track, “Heard It On The Radio,” which could easily be a long-lost H&O B-side, displays the duo’s grasp of and reverence for their inspiration. It doesn’t take much of a sonic leap to get from Hall And Oates’ ’80s-era keys-and-synths soul to The Bird And The Bee’s ’00s-era keys-and-synths twee, so Interpreting The Masters feels more like a loving tribute than a creative reworking. But George’s cooing vocals add some extra interest, particularly her sassy take on “Rich Girl” and the mournful “She’s Gone.” It isn’t revelatory, but it’s a natural fit that makes up for its familiarity with listenability and pure fun—no irony necessary....full text |
| Allmusic |
| The very title of Interpreting the Masters suggests that the Bird & the Bee are digging into a catalog of a widely respected pop songwriter -- a Burt Bacharach, perhaps, or a Jimmy Webb. That’s not the case: children of the ‘80s that they are, singer Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin have chosen Daryl Hall & John Oates for the first volume of Interpreting the Masters, a sly move that reveals both their age and intended audience -- i.e., ex alt-rockers raised on new wave and now settling into a tasteful, hipster middle age, hauling around kids dressed in Ramones t-shirts -- and a reflection of Hall & Oates’ increasing reputation as soul-pop songwriters and record-makers. The Bird & the Bee don’t dig deeply into Hall & Oates catalog -- there’s none of the burnished folk-rock of Whole Oates, nor do they pluck album tracks like “Looking for a Good Sign” off of Private Eyes -- they simply choose the biggest hits, then give them a slyly modern update, one that consciously recalls the modernist new wave productions of the duo’s biggest hits yet fits within the Bird & the Bee’s nicely tailored AAA pop. So if Interpreting the Masters, on the surface, provides no surprises, why is it such a wonderful surprise as a whole? Perhaps it’s because the Bird & the Bee manage to make these very familiar hits sound fresh without radically reinventing them. That in itself is a much trickier move than turning these all into slow acoustic dirges, but it’s better still because these arrangements are true to both Hall & Oates and George & Kurstin. The Bird & the Bee illustrate just how much they’ve learned with their introductory original “Heard It on the Radio,” a song about the tunes they’re about to sing that holds its own with the covers, but the heart of the album lies in these covers of ‘80s staples: they shift the spotlight just enough to prove how good both the original song and singles are, and by never drawing attention to their own performance and arrangements, the Bird & the Bee prove just how good they are too....full text |
| Latimesblogs |
| Sometime in our collective redefinition of the '80s as the ultimate punch line of the recent decades, the scrumptious pop work of Daryl Hall and John Oates was unfairly written off as kitsch, the soundtrack for getting on your leg warmers or trimming your heavy Oates-style mustache. But the local duo of singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist/producer Greg Kurstin, as the Bird and the Bee, have retooled Hall & Oates' classic FM jams, reflecting the summery ease of Los Angeles instead of the choppy, blue-eyed soul of Philly. Although they polish these radio baubles to a mellow shine, the pair never lose their heads in fandom. "I Can't Go for That" is the Santa Ana winds of disco cool, with George delivering the title line with a chanteuse's detachment, a hallmark of her vocal style. "Kiss on My List" opens with an organ line that could be echoing in the loneliest roller-skating rink. One of the best takes on the album is the sole original, "Heard It on the Radio," which functions as a love letter to summer earworms with bubbly synths....full text |
The Bird And The Bee lyrics
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