In the middle between Art-Pop-elements, folk-inspired acoustic parts, Rock-fragments and string-orchestra sections, you will find Isgaard‘ s versatile voice flying through the songs and merging all to a style of her own. A very ethereal, rich, powerful and moving release with just the perfect amount of melancholy, by this talented German female vocalist. While some of her early work had a style of Euro tech and dance, on this 2016 recording she sounds like a more gentle Kate Bush or Annie Haslam.

The place for Art of Noise neophytes to start, Daft collects (Who's Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise! and Into Battle with the Art of Noise, along with two reworkings of "Moments in Love" from the original U.K. release of that song, to make a fantastic hour's worth of music. If anything, a single or two aside, Daft beats out the official Best Of compilation by a mile. Having aged superbly with time, AON's early works sound all the more advanced and of the moment, a testament especially to Trevor Horn's excellent production and Anne Dudley's gripping arrangements. Further entertainment comes from the liner notes, which aren't merely state-of-the-art 1984 album design but an apparently barbed attack on the further incarnation of the band from one Otto Flake…

With The Water In You, Isgaard and her musical partner Jens Lueck (Single Celled Organism) continue their consistent path. Their ninth album is characterized by artful compositions rooted in art rock and art pop, always characterized by Isgaard's diverse vocal range. Unusual sound clusters meet rocking guitars, heavy grooves are replaced by fragile acoustic guitars that wrap around Isgaard's emotional vocals. The album critically examines the state of our civilization and addresses the climate crisis, the marginalization of groups, conspiracy theories, and the ludicrous idea of ​​unlimited growth, as well as the role of the individual in this world gone awry…

Flesh and Blood (stylized as Flesh + Blood) is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Roxy Music. Released in late May 1980, it was an immediate commercial success peaking at No. 1 in the UK for one week in June and then returned to the summit in August for another three weeks, in total spending 60 weeks on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at No. 35 in the United States and No. 10 in Australia. The album was made after their drummer Paul Thompson had left the band, essentially making Roxy Music a three-piece band consisting of Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay and Phil Manzanera.

One of two paired box sets chronicling the entirety of Kate Bush's recorded work as of 2018, Remastered, Vol. 2 features upgrades of the three albums since 2005: Aerial, Director's Cut, and 50 Words for Snow. In addition to these records, Remastered, Vol. 2 contains four CDs of non-album tracks, featuring a disc of 12" mixes, two discs of B-sides (labeled "The Other Side"), and a disc of covers (called "In Others' Words"). For the diehards, having these rarities on a proper album is reason enough to acquire Remastered, Vol. 2, and they do elevate a box that doesn't have as many classics as the first box: the 2005 comeback Aerial is teamed with an album where she revisits her past and the lush orchestral 50 Words for Snow. Like its cousin, Remastered, Vol. 2 boasts clean, detailed remasters that feel fuller than their predecessors. That's appropriate for music as sumptuous and transporting as this; the improved fidelity has the effect of making the music seem more vivid, not less.

Finally bored with ambient music, a genre he pioneered in the 1970s, pop polymath Brian Eno emerged with Another Day on Earth, his first solo recording of "conventional" songs since Another Green World. From the rhythm track of opening song "This," the sound is unmistakable. A quirky hook covered in layers of atmosphere and a bouncy loop, it's a smart little tune with additional guitars by Leo Abrahams. Lyrically, Eno's process is poetic, employing not only his own strategies, but a computer generating words as well. At three-and-a-half minutes, it's a fine pop song, albeit one that would never get played on the radio. "And Then So Clear" is more evocative of Eno's work with Daniel Lanois, utilizing a very simple loop adorned with sparse guitars while keyboards pulse softly as a completely treated human voice paints a landscape both exterior and interior…

One of two paired box sets chronicling the entirety of Kate Bush's recorded work as of 2018, Remastered features upgrades of her first seven albums: The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never for Ever, The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes. Apart from the remastering, there are no extras on this box – those have been shuffled off to Remastered, Vol 2 – but that's enough, considering that the albums haven't been revisited since their original CD releases. The remasters are clean and detailed, feeling fuller than their predecessors, and that's appropriate for music as sumptuous and transporting as this; the improved fidelity has the effect of making the music seem more vivid, not less.

Maneuvering between grandiose retro motifs and a surprising sincerity, Michelle Gurevich’s songs are tragicomic, melody-driven, sentimental and suspended in shadowy glamour. Having released 3 albums under the moniker of Chinawoman, she now continues as Michelle Gurevich. She combines dark realism with humour in smoky and intimate ballads delivered with cutting and fatalistic lyrics. Her story began when her bedroom-produced debut album Party Girl, by some fateful unknown hand was delivered to the land of her forefathers, and soon made its way blaring from the yachts of Russian billionaires and as the ringtones of mothers all over the Ukraine. Her music has drawn comparisons to Nico and Leonard Cohen, with a voice akin to Tanita Tikaram. Decadent, dramatic and earnest, vintage keyboards and synth strings offer the solitary rendition of a grand experience, and a voice always upfront delivers motifs familiar yet impossible to pinpoint from the great soup of European chanson.