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[Editorial note: Please welcome the newest contributing author to N2Notes.com, Howard. His bio is available on the Authors page and you can visit his personal website at www.thewebpen.net.]
If it’s true that everything runs in twenty-year cycles then The Bird And The Bee are jumping the 60’s-revival gun a bit on their [tag]debut[/tag] album, but that’s alright because in ten years they have the bragging rights to claim themselves as ‘[tag]pioneers[/tag]’. What really matters though is that these two, Inara George (the bird) and Greg Kurstin (the bee), have recorded one of the finest [tag]quirky[/tag]/[tag]psychedelic[/tag] pop albums in years. They are [tag]Portishead[/tag] filtered through an acid-trip in a late-60’s lounge. The entire album is a complete throw back and creates an atmosphere of [tag]groovy[/tag] daisies, bell bottoms and free love.

The hook here is Inara’s vocals which the band not only wisely bring to the forefront, but also use as an instrument with many la’s, bop’s and other nonsensical lyrics to round out the songs. This has the benefit of making the songs instantly [tag]singable[/tag] and even allows them to write a song called, “La La La”. There will be the inevitable comparisons to late-career [tag]Everything But The Girl[/tag], which are easily made; however, the difference here is mood. The Bird And The Bee sound happy even when Inara is lamenting she has a broken heart. You wouldn’t hear a French horn and other brass in an EBTG song.

However, The Bird And The Bee wouldn’t be complete without the bee. Greg’s instrumentation and choice of sounds really is the glue that keeps the songs together and the collection cohesive. Whether it’s the [tag]Zombies[/tag]-like keyboards in “La La La”, the tambourine sprinkled throughout or his obvious love of the harpsichord in “Again & Again”, “My Fair Lady” and “I Hate Camera”, he creates the perfect sound to showcase Inara’s light and [tag]airy[/tag] vocals.

Don’t worry though that this is nothing but a collection of songs right out of “Laugh-In”. There are plenty of modern influences to enjoy as well. The fat bass of “Preparedness” owes as much to the [tag]Human League[/tag] as it does to [tag]Timbaland[/tag]. “Fucking Boyfriend” lends itself easily to the club and even deservedly hit number one on the U.S. [tag]dance[/tag] charts last December. And don’t forget to catch the fantastic 8-bit Nintendo-game break in “I Hate Camera”. The Bird And The Bee is the culmination of two [tag]jazz[/tag] nerds playing around and having fun. That fun even shines through in the beautiful “Spark” which closes this debut. Listening to The Bird And The Bee is like slipping into go-go boots and dancing in a cage. It’s the feeling of enjoying the crowd while escaping into your own world.

What do you get when you cross [tag]Queen[/tag]’s Freddie Mercury with 1970’s era [tag]Elton John[/tag]? Besides a fantastic party complete with feather boas? You get Mika.

There is no question that Mika’s voice is outstanding. He wrote every song on this debut album that alternates between outrageously flamboyant and dark and brooding. Not bad for a 23 year old.

Life in Cartoon Motion is one of the most [tag]creative, spirited[/tag] and [tag]original[/tag] albums I have heard in a long time. I’m a sucker for a great melodic hook and high sing-a-long quotient. The tracks on this disc are one hook after another, and I promise that you will find yourself singing along with him at the top of your lungs. Good luck trying to match his falsetto note for note.

The production on this record is stellar. Layered instrumentation and synthesized sound effects never overpower the vocals. Tracks like “Love Today” and “Relax (Take It Easy)” cater to the club scene, reminiscent of [tag]The Scissor Sisters[/tag] or the disco kings, [tag]The Bee Gees[/tag]. Other tracks, like “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)” are witty tongue-in-cheek homages to Queen songs. Mika even name checks Freddie in “Grace Kelly.”

He’s already a huge star in the UK, where corporate radio hasn’t tried to pigeon-hole every artist into a demographic. It will be a challenge for him to find big success in the US, not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because US audiences may never really get the chance to discover him.

Key Tracks:
• Grace Kelly
• Love Today
• Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
• Relax (Take It Easy)

I’ve been anticipating the release of this disc. I was a big fan of Elliot’s when he was competing on [tag]American Idol[/tag]. While it is not the strongest [tag]debut[/tag] album I’ve heard by far, it is one that delivers exactly what you expect. A young and soulful R&B record made by a man who loves soulful R&B.

There are occasional moments where Elliot’s delivery seems a bit too controlled, and occasional moments of brilliance, like his cover of Donnie Hathaway’s “Song for You.”

My complaints about the disc are pointed directly at the record’s producers, of which several are credited. I have had my fair share of experience with record mixing and production, and there are tracks on this disc that make me want to shake whomever was behind the board. For instance, I was listening to “You Are The One.” For half the track I thought maybe my headphones were loose, but I realized that no, the generic string and electric piano tracks were completely overpowering the vocals. It sounded like it might be karaoke track with a “helpful” scratch vocal to help the not-so-good drunk guy keep his place in the song. It happens a few other times where Elliot is delivering a line with his trademark runs that get lost behind an inane beat and electronic pad.

There are some instances when burying the vocal a bit behind the track is effective. The Police used the technique often as a way to make the listener strain to understand the lyrics, therefore making them really pay attention the message of the song. But these songs aren’t lyrically exceptional.

When you have a talented singer who is know specifically for his VOICE why would you ever try to bury it?

Key Tracks:
• Movin’ On
• Train Wreck
• Alright
• Song for You

A mix of folk/country and rock from a seasoned middle-aged divorcee from New York that is smart, funny, sad, and catchy. These modern tales of love, life, and punk dreams of dancing with Joey Ramone will warrant multiple spins on your iPod. Think a cross between [tag]Jill Sobule, the Indigo Girls,[/tag] and maybe even the later [tag]Beatles[/tag]’ albums, with tongue in cheek takes on topics like “Needy Men” and the odd situation of becoming friends with your new husband’s ex wife.

How can I pick up where she never left off? We’re like a club of two who have seen him with his clothes off… The trouble with Jeannie is she’s all right, the trouble with Jeannie is she’s so nice, could somebody explain to me this modern life?

Key tracks:
• Like Rasputin
• The Trouble With Jeannie
• Dancing with Joey Ramone

The problem with the recent success of retro 80’s electronic bands like [tag]The Killers[/tag] and [tag]Interpol[/tag] is the army of sub par bands who try to slipstream their way on to the charts. Such is the case with this tepid disc from Action Action. [tag]Cliche[/tag] bass lines and awful ‘high-tech for 1978″ Casio keyboard blips make me remember exactly what I didn’t like about a lot of actual 80’s bands.

The lead singer affects a faux british accent in what may well be the worst [tag]Elvis Costello[/tag] impression in recorded history. Only one song on this hour long snorefest stands out as anything that I might actually leave on my iPod, “The Game” has a bit of a recognizable hook and isn’t totally insipid. This disc’s saving grace is a very cool art concept on the cover, but even that is a rip off of the character Mirage from The Incredibles.

A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands live. You see… I got into [tag]The Pat McGee Band [/tag]several years ago when I first heard “Rebecca” on KFOG here in San Francisco. I’m a sucker for great [tag]harmonies[/tag], intelligent lyrics, and any song where before it’s over I can sing along to the chorus. That’s right, I’m a Pop Junkie(tm). I make no apologies.

Anyway.

After being quite enchanted with the album, Shine, I was quite excited to discover they were going to play a show at Slim’s on September 11, 2001.

So my first thought on that day wasn’t, ‘gee this is awful, those poor people.’ It was, ‘damn, I just know they’re canceling the show tonight.’ [of course I immediately thereafter felt the weight of the events of those days as it related to other people.]

I’m not saying it was the most PC, socially-conscious, or even compassionate thing to think, but as we all know, it IS all about me.

So I waited patiently for PMB to come back to San Francisco… anxiously scanning the fan-site emails for new tour dates, and kicking myself for not living in Nashville anymore.

So fast forward FIVE, yes, count them FIVE long years of downloading live versions of anything I could find from PMB and waiting for them to come back to the left coast.

In the meantime, I picked up many many many cd’s, including one by [tag]Michael Tolcher[/tag] that I love. His voice is amazing, pitch perfect… and while I believe this album is a bit overproduced, and would have been much more powerful with a couple of solo acoustic songs, it is nonetheless wonderful. I caught a live performance of Michael’s last year when he opened for [tag]Everclear[/tag] (who hold the distinction of being only the 2nd band I’ve ever walked out of a show before it was over… before it was even really begun, actually…) MT is great live.

I had purchased the [tag]Stephen Kellogg[/tag] and the Sixers album, and it was buried in my iPod. I knew that a couple of songs stood out and I actually remember thinking that they sounded a bit like PMB, but really I hadn’t given them much thought.

But then.

FINALLY, an announcement that PMB was coming to San Francisco, and they were bringing Stephen Kellogg with them. Great… I immediately got tickets.

A week before the show, I got an email from the Michael Tolcher website, saying he would be opening the show. No. Way. Great news!

Let me just say, despite the fact that PMB brought half his band, this was probably the best live music event I’d ever attended. Michael performed solo acoustic (!) and really showed off his guitar abilities and again, his PERFECT FUCKING PITCH. I got the opportunity to talk to him after his set, he put a new song (which is quite good) on my iPod. I relayed to him my disbelief that his record company hasn’t done more to promote him. He completely agreed with me.

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers are a m a z i n g live. There was so much on stage chemistry and energy that it couldn’t help but boil over into the audience and infect the entire room. I love small venues like The Independent. At one point the band jumped off stage and played an acoustic version of “See You Later, See You Soon” in the middle of the audience. Their show included many cover song segues, an unusual inclusion of random movie quotes during songs, and a bass player who danced in his underwear.

And of course Pat McGee was just as good as I had hoped. I wish the whole band had come along, as the lack of a bass player made some songs that should have had more drive fell slightly short of expectations, but above all their musicianship was evident and provided a different arrangement of songs that I had by now become quite familiar with. They did a fine mix of older songs from Shine, as well as newer songs from Save Me.

Oh yeah, and they ended the show with “Rebecca,” with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers helping out. Fantastic. And it wasn’t just the six manhattans talking.

It isn’t very often that a band’s sophomore major release is as good, or even better than their first release (see [tag]Hootie and the Blowfish[/tag], [tag]Jason Mraz, Lifehouse[/tag], and many many others as examples). However, the few years that Vertical Horizon took to work up some new material were very kind to the guys. This release is a polished non-stop perfect pop/rock album, complete with the balls out rock of “When You Cry” and the tear jerking ballad “It’s Over.” While there may not be a standout anthemic single like “Everything You Want” on this album, you’ll quickly find yourself singing along to every song on the record, wondering why good songs like these never make it to the radio.

It don’t matter, it’s over, here I’ve been waiting, all my life, all this time.

Key Tracks:
• It’s Over
• Forever
• One of You

Imagine if [tag]Dashboard Confessional[/tag] were happy… well at least happier, and able to write [tag]hooky[/tag] pop songs and you might get close to the sound of this album. At a mere 22 years old, Adam Richman has accomplished much with this latest work. Though there are a couple of completely forgettable tracks on this disc, the standouts are quite good. If you’re a fan of groups like [tag]Bowling for Soup, Fountains of Wayne,[/tag] perhaps even [tag]Blink 182[/tag] (without the tongue-in-cheek adolescent boy humor) you should check this one out.

Key tracks:
• The Loneliness Song
• Song 10
• I’m So Crazy