Angelic

The most accessible of all of Judge Jules and Darren Tate’s aliases, Angelic concentrates on stiff kick drums and a pop song structure to offer a foundation for Amanda O’Riordan’s emotionally fueled vocal work. O’Riordan, once a graphic designer, began working with Jules and Tate after marrying the former, offering trance producers new vocal lines instead of forcing them to follow cliché and lift from old soul records. The results were projects like Angelic, unapologetic dance-pop somewhere between Sarah McLachlan, St. Etienne, and Tall Paul. Singles “It’s My Turn,” “Can’t Keep Me Silent,” and “Stay With Me” scored incredible chart attention in 2000 and 2001, but the budding trio suffered from growing derision from dance club tastemakers with each release. ~ Dean Carlson