Written by Maria Arroyo
Indie-pop duo, The Bird and the Bee, release their newest Christmas album, Put Up The Lights, via No Expectation/Release Me Records. Becoming an “unexpected source of calm and joy” for these two, it fueled a lot of the inspiration for the new release.
“I have to say, working on a holiday record during summer is always strange, no matter what the circumstance,” Inara George shares. “But working on a holiday album during the summer, and a global pandemic, worldwide civil rights protesting, historical wildfires and the lead up to the most important election of our lives is really, really strange.”
Their first tune, “You and I At Christmas Time,” is one of two originals on this record. The song has all the nostalgia of Christmas songs, but with more inspiration from their soft-psychedelic and indie sound. “The Christmas Song” is another fusion song of their unique sound and those classic Christmas carols. I loved their rendition of the song, and if truth be told, I’m a Christmas song addict so I’ll happily have Christmas in October!
The Bird and The Bee jazz things up with “Sleigh Ride” and this is where their immense musicality soars through. They play around with everything from the harmonic structure, to the rhythmic feel of the song, and they did it so effortlessly.
“Deck The Halls” is another Christmas favorite on the album. This is probably closest in sound and style to its original recording, but they still manage to keep their indie-sounding aesthetic right at the forefront of the song.
“Little Drummer Boy (feat. Dave Grohl)” (and quite possibly on my Top 3 list for Christmas songs) starts off with an intense drum fill, along with some great harmonic choices that are completely different from the original. I love the more commercial style this song took, and I really appreciated that their attention to detail was not avoided in this song.
The duo’s other original, “Merry Merry,” is full of energy and charisma, and everything in between. It was hands down my favorite of the album and it was an original! They closed out Put Up The Lights with a beautifully executed cover of “Hallelujah Chorus.” A lot of time and effort went into making this song just right, because there are so many layers to it, and they nailed them perfectly.
“Holiday songs give us such an escape from a time of year that is supposed to be so jolly and happy, but a lot of times can be so stressful and even lonely,” added Inara. “And even more universally, how music in general, always offers that to the listener… an escape, a moment of joy, a feeling of belonging. There’s a song out there for every occasion.”
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