The Lesser Birds of Paradise - String of Bees (Contraphonic)
On The Lesser Birds of Paradise's third album (recorded by ex-Coctails' Barry Phipps), the Birds continue to incorporate lush string accompaniments into their light acoustic-tinged folk-pop, but while String of Bees has a lot of nice songs, and really nice guitar parts, it doesn't ever really feel solid or really feel like it stands on its own two feet.
The better songs on the album ("A Magnet in You" and "When the Devil Does a Drive-By" to just name a few) tend to sound like a mix between Jim O'Rourke's Halfway to a Threeway mixed with Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned... and Summer Sun. The vocals especially sound a lot like they are going for that mellow, whispering, Ira sound.
Other songs, "This Is The Song I Wrote Last Night," "Mermaid on the Blvd.," "Where The River Meets The Sea," feel even lighter and wispier, if not naïve, and don't feel like they succeed in holding or showing much emotional depth.
Overall, while a lot of the songs are quite nice, they just seem to be missing that something special or extra that really sets them apart and makes them great and worth repeat listens. A nice enough listen though, and I do look forward to continue checking out their next album to see where they go from here.
