Inara George

For Inara George's second solo effort, An Invitation, you'll be hard pressed not to find a review that doesn't mention two things: Bjork's Selmasongs score and Joanna Newsom's Ys. George's voice takes on a Bjork-ian tone throughout, although it's not as rigid. The orchestral atmosphere that Van Dyke Parks creates, wholeheartedly has a Broadway/big-band feel, reminding listeners of the symphonic overtones that Ys had. This is what jumps out initially; look deeper, and there's an ambition nestled within that suggests George isn't trying cop Bjork and Newsom's style.

Every song bleeds into each other, giving it a running diary feel. With the lush orchestration, George’s voice ditches the quirk-poppiness of her nine-to-five band, The Bird and the Bee. Instead, she sounds much more carefree, aloof at times, but most of all- whimsical. Like she should be on some hill, somewhere, where it's alive, possibly with music. A loose narrative seems to be in play as well. It's a coming-of-age story where George's character (is it her?) wrestles with moving on and then eventually she does. Subject matter isn't really that shocking. But in the fairytale context her words reside in, the subject makes it a bit more intriguing than the everyday rock and roll/country/folk/whatever contexts that these sentiments usually exist in.

—Michael D Ayers
08.28.08

Taking a break from the Bird and the Bee's retro electronics, Inara George teamed up with family friend Van Dyke Parks to create an album of elegant symphonic pop. An Invitation is the stylish result, with George playing the part of a modern-day jazz singer (she's more Norah Jones than, say, Diana Krall) over layers of strings, flutes, brass, and piano. Given the general lack of percussion, George is required to set her own pace, a challenge she meets with nimble phrasing and rubato delivery. Parks also adapts to his partner, working around her subtle vocals by heaping on the violins and limiting the presence of bright, brassy horns. Even so, An Invitation is nothing if not a Parks record; his influence is felt in every measure, every quarter note, and he arguably deserves to share top billing with George. Putting the two on equal ground might've also encouraged more push and pull in the melodies, which often lack the memorable hooks of George's previous work. George and Parks hardly coast along on the strength of their pedigrees, however, and An Invitation fares better as the duo's debut effort rather than George's follow-up to The Bird and the Bee. This is an album for Sunday afternoons, for fans of Frank Sinatra and Aaron Copeland, for sophisticates who want music to soothe their minds rather than demand its full attention. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide