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Goldfrapp
"Seventh Tree"
Release date: Feb. 26, 2008
Mute
www.goldfrapp.com
Rating: 3 out of 5
Alison Goldfrapp strays away from the dance floors and returns to her roots on her latest studio album, "Seventh Tree."
Much like her 2000 debut, "Felt Mountain," the new album is stocked with slower, more spatial tunes instead of immediate dance hits, such as "Ooh La La."
In fact, there are no good dance tunes on the album, which is disappointing in a way, but her atmospheric electronica is still swiftly enticing.
"Seventh Tree" explores the realms of dark pop, twisting away from the glitter and glam of her last album to reach a deeper, musical depth.
Alison Goldfrapp's vocals are sultry and sweet, along the likes of Blonde Redhead. In a similar way, Goldfrapp's music is a strange sort of irony, with songs that are inherently good-natured yet oddly dark.
She taps into somber acoustic, shimmering synth and piano with a feminine authority, throwing in sounds of orchestra strings and little electronic rarities making their way in every once in a while. The result is wholesome, such as on the opening track "Clowns" and "Some People."
The overall feeling of "Seventh Tree" is disconnecting. "Three o' clock, I'm on my way on the road to somewhere/ little clouds like wounds that blow away/ listening to the radio like a friend that guides me/ playing out every song we used to know," Goldfrapp sings on "Road To Somewhere," somewhere between sleeping and dreaming.
But the album isn't all dreary.
"A&E" is a defiant break-up song, full of encouraging and sweet harmonies, backed up by a steady, pop optimism. "Happiness" is the most upbeat track on the album, with the title describing it all and the music having the same effect. That happiness, though, soon fades, but where it goes is unknown.
"Seventh Tree" isn't anything close to depressing, or even downbeat. It has its own sort of excitement, hidden in the layers of vocals and instrumentation. Still, it feels like it's missing something important, as if it is a little too hopeful but pessimistic at the same time.
The songs on "Seventh Tree" have a longer-lasting effect than the pop on "Black Cherry" or "Supernature," but that comes at the price of losing their catchiness. Yet with lovely, golden blonde vocals to match Alison Goldfrapp's appearance, the album slowly grows to become worth more than its appraisal.
