Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Music Review: 20 Jahre: Akademie für alte Musik Berlin
Live from Soundscape [Live] [Import]
Album Review: Almighty: Definitive Collection, Vol. 3 [Import]
Floyd Collins (1996 Original Off-Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]
Amazon.com
If the notion of indie intelligentsia expounding en français doesn't prompt your gag response, you'll find Pop Romantique a tasty fluff piece. Tunes with true French flavor work best: each note of "L'anamour," written by 1960s icon Serge Gainsbourg (who's covered four times here), is delivered with a no-tongue kiss from Ivy's front-femme, Dominique Durand; meanwhile, Air's delicate guitar suits famed countrywoman and guest vocalist Françoise Hardy--her tones are languid, luxe, and spent as vintage silk. Several unamphibian activities sound swell: Apples in Stereo apply their tweaked, fuzzy signature; Godzuki burble dark as a champagne-absinthe cocktail; and Luna seem positively jaunty. As for faux pas, John Wesley Harding's heart's in the right place (oozing appropriate melancholy, his outro a series of sighs), but he struggles with the accent, as does Lloyd Cole, who has the gall to go Gaul with Bob Dylan. In sum: a pleasant Valentine's spin for kitschy couples.--Nina Malkin
Album Description
Collection of new recordings from sophisticated pop artists singing and performing French pop classics, including Ivy, Air with Francoise Hardy, Lloyd Cole, Heavenly, John Wesley Harding, Magnetic Fields and The Apples In Stereo. 12 tracks total. 1999 release.