Bird

Toronto, ON musician/producer Aaron Bird's La Notte is an intricate and difficult album to define. Bird labels the verdant production of his debut project "cinematic soul," and the shifting mix of instrumentals, hip-hop and R&B are reverential to his obvious Ennio Morricone and dark orchestral tastes. Having previously produced for artists such as Abdominal and D-Sisive, Bird has the chops behind the scenes; in front of them, he is engaging on various fronts. D-Sisive and Abdominal turn up to bless the proceedings with hip-hop tracks "Phil Spector" and "The Dark," respectively, while joints "Nature of the Beast" and "Heaven Can Wait" vibe on the aforementioned cinematic orchestral tip. "Crazy" falters a bit, with Bird on vocals that don't quite mesh with the beat, but "Still Shine" does just that with a seamless collaboration between Toronto's Notes To Self and Tanika Charles, along with long-defunct North Carolina group Little Brother. The head-and-shoulders standout track is "The Whole World Knows," a summer, breezy, guitar-driven track showcasing Bird's okay vocals and solid production. La Notte is imperfect yet passionate in achieving its mission of blending Bird's disparate musical loves.