Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future

Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is the second studio album by American indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee, released on January 27, 2009, by Blue Note Records. The album contains the two lead-off tracks from the duo's last two studio EPs: "Polite Dance Song" from Please Clap Your Hands and "Birthday" from One Too Many Hearts.

Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future
Studio album by The Bird and the Bee
Released	January 27, 2009 (2009-01-27)
Recorded	2008; Echo Studios (Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Indie pop, electronic
Length	44:54
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Greg Kurstin
The Bird and the Bee chronology
One Too Many Hearts (2008) Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (2009) Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates (2010)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	A−[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
Pitchfork Media	5.4/10[7]
PopMatters	7/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Spin	7/10[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Greg Kurstin and Inara George, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fanfare"	0:29
2.	"My Love"	3:46
3.	"Diamond Dave"	3:14
4.	"What's in the Middle"	3:21
5.	"Ray Gun"	4:42
6.	"Love Letter to Japan"	4:07
7.	"Meteor"	3:21
8.	"Baby"	3:50
9.	"Phil"	0:10
10.	"Polite Dance Song"	3:47
11.	"You're a Cad"	3:10
12.	"Witch"	3:55
13.	"Birthday"	3:48
14.	"Lifespan of a Fly"	3:14

LP bonus track^[12]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Leggs"	2:59

iTunes bonus tracks^[13]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Everything Is Ending"	3:22
16.	"Polite Dance Song" (Totally Rude Remix) (pre-order only)	2:47

Napster bonus track^[14]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Punch You in the Eye"	3:41

Japan bonus tracks^[15]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Heart Throbs and Apple Seeds (with Cornelius)"	3:53
16.	"How Deep Is Your Love" (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb)	3:24

Korea bonus tracks^[16]

No.	Title	Length
15.	"How Deep Is Your Love" (B. Gibb, M. Gibb, R. Gibb)	3:24
16.	"Come as You Were"	3:00
17.	"Again & Again" (Hotel Room Bossanova Version)	2:47
18.	"Fucking Boyfriend" (Ralphi Rosario & Jody DB Radio Edit)	3:48

Personnel

Credits for Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future adapted from liner notes.^[17]

The Bird and the Bee

• Greg Kurstin – bass, engineer, guitar, keyboards, mixing, percussion, producer, programming (all tracks); backing vocals (3, 4, 5)
• Inara George – vocals

Additional personnel

• Mike Andrews – guitar (4)
• Autumn de Wilde – photography
• Megan Geer-Alsop – backing vocals (10)
• Willow Geer-Alsop – backing vocals (4, 6, 10, 14)
• Perry Greenfield – artist development management
• Gordon H. Jee – creative director
• Keith Karwelies – A&R administration
• Carla Leighton – art direction, design
• Alex Lilly – backing vocals (4, 6, 10, 14)
• Gavin Lurssen – mastering
• Gus Seyffert – guitar (10)
• Kazumi Someya – translation (6)
• Joey Waronker – drums (1, 9, 10)
• Eli Wolf – A&R

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Japanese Albums Chart[18]	236
US Billboard 200[19]	78
US Alternative Albums[20]	20