Pop music with drums and trumpets, strings and choirs: that still exists, despite all the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
As is well known, Paul McCartney does not tend to understate when it comes to album productions. Due to the pandemic, the ex-Beatle recorded his latest solo record in 2020 almost alone in lockdown mode – there was no other way.
Many music stars report that they are no less creative because of Corona, but only have limited studio or human resources – for example due to the often necessary “contact restrictions” for artists too. The opulent sound in rock and pop has nevertheless survived the crisis well, as some lavish releases in the music spring of 2022 show.
“Sophisticated Pop” from Norway
The Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche (39) put together a double album in Bergen in the far north of Europe, which in 90 minutes running time throws stylish string sounds, clever electro rhythms and overwhelming melodies around.
The musician, who was internationally recognized as a super talent 20 years ago, was able to create a romantic pop musical with “Avatars Of Love”, even during the pandemic, which counters the Corona impositions with the pure beauty of indulging in “sophisticated pop”.
“I was on tour alone in Norway during the first summer of the pandemic when the songs just poured out of me,” said Lerche about his performance explosion. “This album was a complete liberation for me.” The 15 new songs, most notably the ten-minute title track with heart-rending video, show him as a great composer, clever lyricist and master of the cinemascope.
His diverse influences range from bossa nova to indie pop to jazz; the sound brings together Chet Baker and Caetano Veloso, Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney, Prefab Sprout and the Pet Shop Boys. And yet “Avatars Of Love” always sounds fascinatingly like Sondre Lerche.
Other pop artists are also putting on a lot with their new studio albums – so there is no trace of spartan production in the quiet Corona chamber.
Get Well Soon – Amen
Like Lerche, Konstantin Gropper, mastermind of this band project from Mannheim, was born in September 1982. And even more consistently he has dedicated his career to bombastic pop between David Bowie, Nick Cave and Pet Shop Boys. The sixth studio record “Amen” doesn’t skimp on drums and trumpets either.
“What should I talk about it: Of course it’s a pandemic album,” says Gropper (39). The fact that the songs – written in lockdown 2021 – were mainly recorded in his basement and a Palatinate holiday home is not heard for a second. The most surprising thing is that the gropper, who used to be often gloomy (the previous album was called “The Horror”), now comes out as an optimist in the lyrics of his multi-layered songs.
Peter Doherty – The Fantasy Life Of Poetry & Crime
The fact that the former riot brother of The Libertines or Babyshambles has grown up is not only shown by the extension of the first name – Pete became Peter. The album «The Fantasy Life Of Poetry & Crime», written by Doherty (43) and composed by Frédéric Lo (57), combines the song poetry of the British with the slightly decadent string and piano arrangements of the French. These songs are also lockdown products that defy all corona frustration.
The work of friendship was recorded in Normandy and in Paris – the result sounds as “très charming” as a returned ex-junkie and Scott Walker admirer with a pleasantly crooked voice can sound. Welcome back Peter!
Spiritualized – Everything Was Beautiful
Another longtime drug friend who always fought his inner demons with massive Wall Of Sound records. Frontman Jason Pierce (56) recently told Rolling Stone: “I’m actually closely connected to the dullness of rock ‘n’ roll.” But his new magnum opus, “Everything Was Beautiful”, recorded in eleven studios, sounds very different. In just seven pieces, the Englishman relies on a cathedral-like sound pattern and gladly accepts the accusation of megalomania.
There was no question of social distancing during the sessions with string and wind groups, choirs and fellow musicians: over 30 people were involved in Spiritualized’s new space rock journey.
Father John Misty – Chloë And The Next 20th Century
Josh Tillman (40), the US songwriter with the strange alias name, doesn’t think much of stingy productions – not even in the crisis. Most recently he bowed to seventies pop icons like Elton John, but with his fifth album “Chloë And The Next 20th Century” he goes even further back on the retro timeline.
In a wonderful string ambience, this gifted singer devotes himself to the 80-year-old era of plush ballads and discovers his inner «Frankie Boy» Sinatra. As with Sondre Lerche, the ornate songs convey a Broadway feeling. Now the pop world is waiting for Father John Misty’s first musical.
Angel Olsen – Big Time
Is it really only the lords of creation who tend to live out their ego in ambitious bombast productions? The eagerly awaited new record by US singer Angel Olsen (35) speaks against it. Her album, announced for June, is not called “Big Time” for nothing. It’s about the great, liberating moment of coming out, about overcoming difficult times with orchestral songs. Like Father John Misty, the infallible Jonathan Wilson helped out in the studio.
The genius of Dusty Springfield or Tammy Wynette shines through in triumphant arrangements somewhere between country and sixties soul. At the latest, the “Go Home” with its breathtaking brass section leaves the listener shaken. That’s how he goes, the big pop without a pandemic brake.