Goldfrapp's New CD Seventh Tree
British Pop Duo Goldfrapp's New Release Rockets up UK Album Charts
British pop duo Goldfrapp continue to mine a rich seam of captivating original music which defies categorisation and it seems the fickle record-buying public are smitten.
Sometimes the British singles charts throw up surprises. In an era defined by vacuous R and B wannabes and posturing indie bands, a chart entry such as Goldfrapp's 'A & E' stands out like a sore thumb. Coming as it does from their new album Seventh Tree – their fourth in eight years – it’s a perfect example of where their music is now and how it contrasts with the bland, conservative taste of the major record companies. That Goldfrapp are signed to the recently-troubled major EMI via former independent Mute is also interesting as the duo are of a sort that marketing people find difficult to categorise: their music is both nebulous and tangible.
Goldfrapp's many facets
Ethereal is a much-overused word to describe the work of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory and it’s an approximate adjective when attempting to describe their sound to anyone unfamiliar with their output. It’s also slightly misplaced because Goldfrapp are a band with many facets and the new album sees them develop their sound further to achieve a rural, pastoral resonance which is largely absent from contemporary music.
Meeting in 1999, former Orbital and Tricky acolyte Goldfrapp and soundtrack composer Gregory pooled their considerable talents with the first result being their stunning debut single ‘Lovely Head’ and its album Felt Mountain. At once cinematic and intimate, Felt Mountain was an album that dared to be different with its sweeping John Barryesque string arrangements and Alison’s enigmatic lyrics often delivered both intimately on songs like ‘Deer Stop’ and stridently on ‘Human’. Arriving at a time when the prevalent sound of dance music was seeing its velocity sag alarmingly, Goldfrapp had produced something that was extraordinary. They then confounded their critics and even their own fans by releasing two albums which were totally different to Felt Mountain, 2002’s Black Cherry and 2005’s Supernature, albums that were suffused with decadent electronic dance and glam rock influences that alienated many of their Felt Mountain era fans with their sheer exhilaration, joie de vivre and sultry shimmer. Building up a head of commercial steam, the band saw three of Black Cherry's singles - including the anthemic 'Strict Machine' - go into the UK charts, something which was then repeated with
the releases from Supernature, the electro-glamtastic 'Ooh La La' giving them a top ten success.
Goldfrapp move onto a new level
Seventh Tree is different again. Opening with the quiet ambience of ‘Clowns’ through the compelling psychedelia of ‘Little Bird’ before Goldfrapp satirise the underlying avarice of religious cults in ‘Happiness’, the album’s mood moves between gentle mockery and personal reflection. On an album from which any number of hit singles could be taken, it's 'Little Bird', 'Happiness' and the penultimate uptempo stomper 'Caravan Girl' are all hot candidates. It's a testament to the quality of Goldfrapp and Gregory's songwriting that their isn't a single filler track on Seventh Tree, something many other artists and bands would do well to take note of.
Currently riding high in the charts, this album is destined to become not only the soundtrack to the British summer but is likely to take Goldfrapp on to big-time stardom. It’s well-deserved.
For more info on the band, please check out Goldfrapp's official website.
