The rarely uttered phrase "Birds of Paradise" immediately brings to mind flocks of delicate, brightly colored parrots sitting on branches of swaying palm trees under the Bermuda sun. It's a beautiful image, idyllic and soothing. A lot like the happy world of beer commercials.

But slap a single "Lesser" to the front of that phrase, and negativity crashes the beach party. With that single two-syllable comparative term, you're suddenly struck with issues of competition, natural selection, inferiority complexes, and all sorts of nasty shit. This image of a perfect day spoiled by mental noise is a pretty accurate analogy for the Lesser Birds of Paradise's A Suitable Frame, an album that employs beauty to discuss ugliness.

Though the record may be all soft singing, breezy guitar work and caramel-sweet melodies on the surface, it's got a very serious dark side resting just under its skin. The almost childlike tones of the music, contrasted with the very adult emotions dealt within the lyrics, makes for a fascinating listen. Although not quite as multifaceted as records by more experienced bands, this debut shows that the Lesser Birds of Paradise can already lay claim to the kind of jaw-dropping musical talent most bands never come close to achieving.

The songs are a pleasantly lumpy mash of folk sensibility, slacker pop and everything that's soft and squishy about rock music. Based around guitar work so polite you almost forget it's in the room, every song is a charming, but emotionally driven piece of clever songwriting. Anyone who doesn't believe it's still possible to write a convincing love song in the year 2G need only witness "Row of Lights," A Suitable Frame's standout track. Its chorus alone is a testament to the power of painful honesty in indie music. Crystallizing the Lesser Birds' wonderfully sloppy pop sound into one convenient package, the track blends all the elements that make this album work so well into one hell of a memorable tune.

"When You're a Pretty Girl" is a message song that manages to resist stooping to preachiness or redundancy. About the social pressures of being a pretty girl, this track might be a little hard to relate to for those of us that look like burn victims, but it's delivered with such earnestness and skill that you can't help but sympathize with the song's comely young protagonist. This track could easily have fallen apart due to any number of factors, not the least of which is the half-smirking way it deals with the girl's "problem." Instead, it positions itself as one of the catchiest and most honest songs on the album. And as an added bonus, it also showcases the Lesser Birds' sharp sense of humor in lines like, "Listen to my body/ You can't deny I'm a hottie." It's this kind of humor, delivered with a sly wink and sarcastic enthusiasm, that underscores the album's desolate, hypersensitive mood rather that undermining it.

A Suitable Frame's soft nature isn't something everyone will be anxious to sink their teeth into, but those the sound hits will be hit hard. I just want to see what these guys can do with a little more experience under their belts.

-Steven Byrd