Monday, August 1, 2016

Noonia | Noonie Bao



With a voice that harks back to the bouncy, pitch-shifted europop voices of the late '90s, production that slams listeners with a sugar-coated wall of sound, and a back catalog that includes work under Clean Bandit, Avicii, Charli XCX, Kimbra, and Carly Rae Jepsen, Swedish singer-songwriter Noonie Bao should already be the next big thing in viral pop. While her debut full-length went under the radar in 2012, her 2015 extended play, Noonia, might just help boost her to the top of every pop music blog out there.

In one listen, it becomes quite apparent why Noonia has been the release to grab everyone's attention: nothing on her debut full-length, I Am Noonie Bao, comes close to matching the volume that Noonia reaches. This extended play is all about those well-executed hooks, best exhibited on "Criminal Love," "I'm in Love," and "Pyramids" -- proving why Bao is becoming such a hot commodity for her songwriting. Vocally, Bao may best be described as a punchier, bubblegum-flavored reincarnate of synthpop mastermind Grimes, especially when she's shouting through her choruses.

Noonia is nothing fancy; these five tracks are color-by-number synthpop. There's no shame in that , though, when it's synthpop done right. She isn't able to resonate emotion through her voice -- in fact, it's quite shrill and operates best in saturated soundscape, which makes "Ninja" feel out of place among the rest on this extended play -- but an emotive voice isn't a prerequisite for what she does best: over-the-top pop.

Noonia is available digitally now under 2many Freckles.

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