Seventh Tree

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Nothing if not pragmatic, Gryphon's members re-emerged as the Banned, purveyors of punk-friendly garage rock. Kat Lister of NME expressed that " Seventh Tree is bound to ruffle a few electro-feathered fans, but there's no denying it's a venture that sets the pair into new experimental territory. In a mixed review, Rolling Stone 's Christian Hoard felt that the "slow pace can be a snooze", but wrote that the album "still makes for good post-party chill-out music". If I had to pick an album to lose myself on a camping trip in the woods for a week, it would totally be this one (although anything Boards of Canada would do as well).

Whereas that album was grandiose, glammy, and almost aggressive in its brash, thrusting sexuality, Goldfrapp's fourth album is no less sensual, but rather more subtle in its approach. The album then slows down with a set of sadder, slower pieces that talk about loneliness and despair about broken relationships. The album's second single, " Happiness", peaked at number 25 on the UK chart, while the third single, " Caravan Girl", reached number 54. The far-out kicks in on the poptastic Caravan Girl, which is a bit like running naked through a cosmic soup, and the fluttering mellotrons of Little Bird show up the likes of Oasis' ham-fisted attempts at psychedelia. That's assuming you can understand Goldfrapp's lyrics in the first place, since she mumbles incoherently and is muffled under a swampy mix through half the record, which only highlights the feeling of sleepy halfheartedness.I've only recently discovered Goldfrapp and what I'm continually amazed by is their ability to make music I initially don't like and then it grows on me.

At its best-- the desolation of "Cologne Cerrone Houdini" and "Some People", which inject the ambience with a much-needed eeriness-- this stuff's fairly soothing; at its worst it evokes that old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" bit about the two-note chords of New Age music: "Put your finger down here. Supernature and Black Cherry were indebted to Add N to (X), a 90s trio also big on synthesisers, shagging and 70s pop. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. After the glorious synthpop plus of Supernature, Alison and Will continue to mine those spinal shivers with this emotive pastoral perfection. Little Bird, with its Beatlesque psychedelia and soaring vocal coda is probably the best thing they've ever done.

Where its predecessor came cocooned in style and sex, Seventh Tree emerges gilded in the butterfly colours of an English surrealism. Each Goldfrapp album is like a different wardrobe to wear and Seventh Tree presents it's own unique weaving of colorful fabrics and cloths.

Beautiful melodies and electronic sounds and over this arrangement Alison pours out a string of life-affirming lyrics promoting actions that you can take that can result in a nirvana of sorts.

In practise, this means much of Seventh Tree goes where earlier Gainsbourg disciples such as Air have gone before: chilled-out, soporific electronica with a light organic edge. The duo continues to strive for something fresh and exciting, and it is only fitting that they should venture into more sedate territory.

Does that look from Alison tell us that she is walking away from her glam period and wondering nervously if we will follow? At AllMusic, Heather Phares praised the album's "electro hippie-chic" as the duo's "most polished and luxe work yet".It makes me wonder why others can't put a whole album on one disc like this (and still sound good), as the whole two disc thing is just too much to be bothered with, even if they (Occasionally) bring anything more to the party in terms of sound quality.