Baroque Pop
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the baroque pop music genre.
-
Françoise Hardy – “Le premier bonheur du jour” (1963)
In some ways, Le premier bonheur du jour is a bit better than Françoise Hardy’s debut a year prior. The production values in particular are much improved and the album no longer sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. Hardy’s vocals have more force and confidence behind them—she’s a true star here. The… (read more)
-
Astrud Gilberto – “The Astrud Gilberto Album”
Fairly typical ‘60s easy listening pop. But as an album, The Astrud Gilberto Album is better than most. Beautiful arrangements are accompanied by a sweet voice sophistically explaining feelings of love and loss as if they were gospel. You know—the usual. Of course, this isn’t musically gospel. It’s primarily bossa nova, albeit with a stronger… (read more)
-
Dusty Springfield – “Dusty in Memphis” (1969)
Aah, Dusty in Memphis is beautiful. Dusty Springfield’s voice is as soft as the warm air coming off a hot fire, and the string arrangements here decorate it in golden lace. The sitar at the end of “In the Land of Make Believe” is genuinely kind of innovative for soul/baroque pop music. I wish there… (read more)
-
David Bowie – “David Bowie” (1967)
His first album, David Bowie (1967), is completely silly music and lyrics. Utter nonsense. This could be excusable if the songs were good, but they aren’t. There’s a clever lyric here and there that can put a smile on my face, but it’s not worth listening to the song (let alone the album) to get… (read more)
-
Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City”
As the trend of female-led soul-influenced indie pop goes, ‘Neptune City’ and Nicole Atkins stand about at the top of everything I’ve heard. (read more)
-
Florence + The Machine – “Lungs”
‘Lungs’ is easily one of the best-written, most powerful pop albums of all time. With it, Florence + The Machine unquestionably outdo any of their influences. ‘Lungs’ deserves every bit of the praise it gets, if not more. (read more)