Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Alternative Press
    80
    It almost doesn't matter what chanteuse Inara George--one half of the Bird And The Bee--is singing about on the duo's second full-length, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, mainly because it all sounds so sweet. [Feb 2008, p.103]
  2. Singer/songwriter Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin know how to craft a pop song. On their second album as the Bird and the Bee, George (the bird) and Kurstin (the bee) continue to juxtapose tongue-in-cheek lyrics with sugary vocals and quirky electronic effects.
  3. Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is not an enormous departure from their self-titled debut; after all, why mess with a good thing?
  4. Cheeky modernity hides beneath every glistening throwback.
  5. Filter
    70
    It's not Brasil '666 or Joao Gilberto, but 'Witch' still intoxicates in the saddest notes of blue. On the sunnier side, both 'Meteor' and the playful 'Diamond Dave' reflect where the band's at its best. [Holiday 2008, p.98]
  6. The duo's follow-up is a more relaxed affair. Though it, too, has cleverness to spare, the album is less cutesy and self-conscious than its predecessor. The beats are stronger, at times hitting with hip-hop force, and the music is fuller and more imaginative.
  7. Like any other subgenre, it has its good and its bad, its watered-down faux bubbly and its liquid gold. And the Bird and the Bee’s second album, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, is on the liquid gold side.
  8. Mojo
    80
    This sequel ups their ante further; there's inventiveness here that rivals Girls Aloud producers Xenomania. [Apr 2009, p.103]
  9. It's not a record to dissect or fall in love with, but rather a diverting, casual listen that brightens up the best part of an hour.
  10. Some of the clever songwriting is still intact and that rescues an otherwise middle of the road affair.
  11. While the duo borrows a bit too obviously from its influences at times, the album’s detailed production and stylistic shifts reward multiple listens, resulting in a pop album with surprising depth.
  12. Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future builds on its predecessor with even tighter concepts and hooks born of a naturally strengthening partnership.
  13. 70
    Sometimes they get stuck in gilded lyrical vagaries, but simpler subject matter serves them best.
  14. Vocalist Inara George and programmer Greg Kurstin have an affinity for all things pretty and vaguely retro, as her exceedingly pleasant vocals and his lush production attest. It's a formula, yes, but one that works over and over.
  15. Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is a useful title for this record, which can feel like a stroll through Tomorrowland with an archly enthusiastic guide.
  16. Under The Radar
    80
    George’s luscious voice and Kurstin’s distinctive production and instrumentation (he also rocks it out on Lily Allen’s new record and has played with Sia, Beck, and The Flaming Lips) lift The Bird and the Bee toward the heavens. [Winter 2009]
  17. 90
    Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is a pop gem for the young at heart and proof that the duo possesses the serious musical talent needed bring their whimsical musical visions to life.
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. SergeyK
    Mar 10, 2009
    10
    The best indie album with female vocal for last years.