No Angel

Beneath its modern sonic veneer, Dido's No Angel is an album very much in the British pop chanteuse tradition of Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, and Tracey Thorn — she shares the classy demeanor and cool intelligence that typified these earlier hit-makers. Superbly produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong (with help from Rick Nowels, Youth and others), No Angel abounds with insinuating tunes, simmering electronic beats and unexpected acoustic embellishments. With a sharp eye for lyrical detail, Dido traces love's small pleasures and lingering hurts in tracks like "Thank You," "Hunter" and "All You Want." Loneliness is a reoccurring topic here, sensitively expressed in "Here With Me" and "My Lover's Gone." Thoughtful pieces like "Isobel" contrast with sensuous dance-pop tracks like "Take My Hand." Best of all is "Don't Think of Me," a scathing put-down of an ex-lover, riding upon a gorgeous melody and dressed in sumptuous strings. Collectively, these songs create a fully rendered portrait of the artist without becoming insular or self-indulgent. No Angel went on to become a world-wide smash and ranks as one of the best pop albums of the decade.