The Quiet Gets Too Close To Me

Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Runaway Daydreamer”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has spent the vast majority of her career making dance pop for the U.K. market, sort of like a b-list homegrown version of Kylie. Her new record is a change of direction for her – she’s abandoned dance beats, and has embraced a very stately and grand sort of orchestral pop. It works pretty well for her: She’s always had a prim voice that I never found too compelling in the context of dancey stuff, but fits the orderly, uptight tone of this music. “Runaway Daydreamer” isn’t nearly as deep as it’d like to be, but the melody is just lovely and even if it has the trappings of “mature pop,” it’s still very bubblegum at its core.

Buy it from Amazon.