And now for something completely different. Contemporary orchestral jazz pop, complete with a string section that has wonderful top notch melody and production. Clare Muldaur has a voice as sweet and smooth as honey here. The album is an 11-track foray into theatrical, space-themed chamber pop that falls somewhere between the score of a Broadway musical and a collection of sweet and playful nursery rhymes. Using a bevy of collaborators, including Sufjan Stevens and Van Dyke Parks, Muldaur gets just the right touch to many of these lush pop songs. Opening with plucked strings of “Pluto” it laments the poor planets’ current status. What follows is the somber “Nothing/Nowhere” with a beautiful hook and orchestral pop sweeps that achieve greatness. “Under the Water,” is an equally gorgeous ballad that brings to mind a sunny summer day, with Muldaur’s soothing vocal taking us there. Other standouts include the ethereal and metropolitan “Alphabet City,” and the cosmic themed “Science Fiction Man” is a dreamy love story. The playful “Rodi” is almost like a sing-a-long done by The Manhattan Transfer, but it’s catchy no doubt. Things get a bit maudlin with “Sugar In My Hair,” but for the most part the album is pure joy to those who appreciate sophisticated pop.
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