RAY GUNS ARE NOT JUST THE FUTURE SET FOR JAN. 27 RELEASE DATE;

ITUNES ALBUM + EXCLUSIVE TRACK PRE-ORDER LAUNCHED JAN. 13;

AOL SPINNER ALBUM LISTENING PARTY TO POST JAN. 19

the bird and the bee, the irrepressible L.A. duo made up of singer Inara George and keyboardist/producer Greg Kurstin, have announced that they will hit the road for a short run of U.S. tour dates on the heels of the January 27 release of Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, their second full-length album, which finds them charting new sonic terrain as they take their stylish ’60s pop and Brazilian influence deeper into the psychedelic period of rock and the Tropicalia era.

the bird and the bee will also be making appearances on two major late night TV shows, performing January 26 on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and February 4 on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! Their 11-city tour kicks off in San Diego on February 5, includes a show in Los Angeles at the Natural History on February 6, and wraps up in New York at Carnegie Hall’s intimate Zankel Hall as part of the WFUV Live at Zankel series on March 7. See all dates below.

The iTunes pre-order for Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future launched today January 13 featuring the Totally Rude Remix of “Polite Dance Song” as an exclusive bonus track. Streaming of the album will also be featured as an AOL Spinner Full CD Listening Party beginning January 19.

The duo recently premiered the video for the album’s lead single “Love Letter to Japan” on MySpace. The video was directed by Barney Clay who has worked with Gnarls Barkley, Dirty Pretty Things, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Zero 7, and Bonde Do Role. Check it out here: (Quicktime | Windows Media)

the bird and the bee’s cover version of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” made a splash online last week when it was featured as a free mp3 on BrooklynVegan and PerezHilton. Their much-loved cover of The Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love” has also been featured in VH1 promo spots for the past several weeks.

the bird and the bee – tour dates

Jan 26 — Los Angeles, CA — Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Feb 4 — Los Angeles, CA — Jimmy Kimmel Live

Feb 5 — San Diego, CA — Casbah

Feb 6 — Los Angeles, CA — Natural History Museum

Feb 7 — Santa Barbara, CA — Soho

Feb 9 — San Francisco, CA — Independent

Feb 11 — Portland, OR — Doug Fir

Feb 12 — Seattle, WA — Chop Suey

Mar 3 — Fairfield, CT — Stage One

Mar 4 — Vienna, VA — Barnes at Wolf Trap

Mar 5 — Philadelphia, PA — Tin Angel

Mar 7 — New York, NY — Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

the bird and the bee, the irrepressible L.A. duo made up of singer Inara George and keyboardist/producer Greg Kurstin, will be premiering the video for “Love Letter to Japan” — the lead single from their forthcoming album Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future — Friday, December 19 on MySpace. The video was directed by Barney Clay who has worked with Gnarls Barkley, Dirty Pretty Things, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Zero 7, and Bonde Do Role. The single for “Love Letter to Japan” was also released on iTunes on December 9. Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future will be released by Blue Note Records on January 27, 2009.

‘Tis the time of year, so in the spirit of giving the bird and the bee are also offering a free holiday song to their fans. “12 Days of Christmas” is currently available as a free MP3 download through their website: www.thebirdandthebee.com. The song will also be KCRW’s “Today’s Top Tune” on December 25, and will be streamed all day on www.kcrw.org.

2008 was another eventful year for the bird and the bee. The duo’s cover version of The Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love?” appeared in Sex and the City: The Movie, they made their debut at L.A.’s much buzzed about Coachella festival, and they released Live at the Sands, an exclusive live EP for iTunes. Inara and Greg also kept busy with side projects; Inara released An Invitation — her second solo album and a collaboration with legendary composer and arranger Van Dyke Parks — to wide acclaim, while Greg produced the entirety of singer Lily Allen’s upcoming album It’s Not Me, It’s You.

The band is looking forward to an exciting 2009 with the release of the full-length follow-up to their self-titled debut. Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future is definitely new sonic terrain for the bird and the bee. Every bit as beguiling as their debut, the album retains its predecessor’s lithe melodies and Brazilian influences, but takes its stylish ’60s pop deeper into the psychedelic period of the Tropicalia era. The band will be announcing their 2009 touring plans in the New Year.

the bird and the bee Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future Blue Note 34556 January 27, 2009