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Description of Baroque Pop

 
Baroque Pop filters standard pop melodies through richly orchestrated arrangements. Ornate and ornamental, it is a reaction to the Lo-Fi (in)sensibilities so pervasive in 1990s Indie Rock -- Baroque Pop outfits like Mercury Rev and Tindersticks seem intent on musically thumbing their collective noses at the less-is-more, devil-may-care recording techniques of the Sebadohs and Haydens of the Lo-Fi universe. The finest Baroque Pop artists create lush soundscapes by employing extensive baroque instrumentation (flute, harp, cello) and mid-tempo rhythms, rendering music that wouldn't sound inappropriate in a classical concert hall.
 

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Baroque Pop Key Artists

 
All Night Radio

This band is the phoenix
that rose from the ashes of
Beachwood Sparks. All
Night Radio's music is similar
to the pop-heavy sensibili...

Aluminum Group

The joys of '70s AM radio
are explored with a
futurist's bent in the world
of the Aluminum Group.

Arcade Fire

Canadian indie rock
up-and-comers who
combine horn and string
orchestrations with a
shouting choir of post-pu...

Archer Prewitt

Archer Prewitt's solo
career has seen him
improve on his baroque,
indie folk pop with each
release. This former mem...

Cardinal

Unsung orchestral pop
group that fostered the
careers of both Eric
Matthews and Richard
Davies.

Colin Blunstone

The voice of the Zombies,
Blunstone has a breathy yet
forceful vocal style all his
own. It's often said that
Bluntstone's solo work pi...

Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith's melancholy
songs, whether stripped to
the bone or joyously
orchestrated, inspire the
grandest of emotions. Smi...

Feist

One of the more unusual
success stories in 2000s'
pop music, the
singer-songwriter born
Leslie Feist has gone from...

Free Design

This set of siblings uses
choral harmonies and studio
orchestrations to give them
a jazzy space age lounge
sound. The Free Design di...

Jeremy Enigk

Enigk's cinematic solo album
owes more to the Zombies
or the Hollies than his
previous band, Sunny Day
Real Estate. Jeremy Enigk...

King of Luxembourg

Little heard Baroque Pop
maestro Simon Fisher
Turner digs into the sounds
of the West Coast in the
'60s.

Ladybug Transistor

Lush orchestrations and
melodies that seem to have
been uprooted from the
burial ground of soft,
psychedelic idealism.

Lee Hazlewood

Lee Hazlewood is probably
best known for his
recordings with Nancy
Sinatra like "Some Velvet
Morning." Sonic Youth’s...

louis philippe

Very precious Baroque Pop
almost as enamored by
France as it is by California's
West Coast.

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev have been
creating cerebral,
sometimes darkly
atmospheric Indie Rock
since 1991.

Momus

Perversion reigns supreme
in the cabaret tinged
electro-folk world of
Scotland's Momus. In order
to pay off legal debts, Mo...

Of Montreal

This Athens-based group
create hyper-colorful
psychedelic pop music and
occasionally act out their
songs on stage. The group...

Pernice Brothers

From the ashes of Scud
Mountain Boys came this
slow-burning outfit branded
with fugitive twang and
buttery vocals. Joe Perni...

Rasputina

Corsets and cellos combine
in the laced-up,
chamber-goth world of
Rasputina. Led by
cellist/singer Melora Crea...

Richard Davies

Richard Davies used to be in
a band named Cardinal with
fellow Chamber Pop
enthusiast Eric Matthews.
Before he was in Cardinal...

Sondre Lerche

A Nordic singer-songwriter
whose lush slices of pop
perfection fall somewhere
between Rufus Wainwright
and Paul McCartney. Alth...

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan is a dabbler of all
styles, with CDs that are
Arabic-influenced,
electronic, Christian folk
and multi-choired indie. H...

The Divine Comedy

DC's arch, lushly
orchestrated pop rock has
given way to a more
guitar-oriented -- though
still sophisticated -- style....

The High Llamas

The High Llamas draw direct
inspiration from the late '60s
Beach Boys and
arrangements of Van Dyke
Parks. Lead Llama Sean O'...

The Shins

With their jangly and
melodic pop the Shins
helped bring the pop
traditions of 1960s pop
bands — groups like t...

Tindersticks

Tindersticks' big, bleak,
baroque approach to
songwriting seats them
comfortably next to
Leonard Cohen and Scott...

Yuji Oniki

Amidst the droves of Indie
Rock-by-way-of-Ladybug
Transistor enthusiasts, Oniki
is the proverbial diamond in
the rough. Featuring mem...

Electronics

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