The Bird and the Bee

While it's certainly hard to see past Blue Note's genre-defining back catalog, the Bird and the Bee rank right alongside Norah Jones at the head of the label's new school — a class that's fueled by much more than just smoky jazz standards. So while "Love Letter to Japan" and "Again & Again" are bursting at the seams with snappy beats and shimmering keys, "Maneater" and "I Can't Go for That" nail the totally '80s hooks of Hall & Oates. And guess what? It all makes sense.

As do our Next Steps, a shape-shifting set that includes a handful of solo cuts from singer Inara George.

A theater major who got her start quoting Shakespeare, Inara George quickly shed the bluesy, country-fried shadow of her father, Little Feat frontman Lowell George. Which might explain why she's able to mold her singing to so many soundscapes and moods, whether we're talking about spare but spellbinding solo tracks ("Bottlecaps," "Greedy") or George's lush work alongside multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin. That includes such Bird and the Bee standouts as the breezy stomper "You'r a Cad," the steam-pressed loops of "Preparedness," and the tubular-tinged "A Christmas Compromise," a spooky holiday tune that'll leave a layer of frost on your speakers.

True to his Technicolor® work with Beck, the Flaming Lips, and Lily Allen, Greg Kurstin's string of Bird and the Bee records reach well beyond the jazz and tropicalia realm. Take "F-cking Boyfriend," for instance. Thanks to Inara George's merry melodies and a floor-filling groove that simply does . . . not . . . quit, it's clobbered living rooms and clubs. And then there's the first volume of Interpreting the Masters, a collection of Hall & Oates covers that kicks out the jams ("I Can't Go for That," "Sara Smile," "Heard It On the Radio") without losing the essence of what makes either artist so special. See also: a rubbery rendition of a smash Herman's Hermits single ("I'm Into Something Good"), a vaporous live version of "Autumn Leaves," and George's straight-faced tribute to a certain Van Halen frontman ("Diamond Dave").