Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

Seventh Tree is a little slow in parts, meaning it grabs you far less than they did in the past

When I initially listened to Goldfrapp’s upcoming disc Seventh Tree, I was immediately taken (mesmerized to a point) by the lush, atmospheric beauty of its first single; the track “A&E.” It boasted a distinctly pop veneer, something akin to Top 40 Pop sprinkled with inklings of folk, reminiscent to a certain extent of pop songstress Dido. It was musically skewed from what Alison and band mate Will Gregory had previously been known for, which of course, was more vivid electronica/dance music. It is a reputation that has bolstered the duo’s profile as one of the best at combining dance rhythm with pop melody. Albums like Black Cherry were packed with great numbers that could easily be filling clubs, as they would be placing on charts. It was an outlook repeated and expanded on the follow-up, Supernature, indicating that perhaps, Goldfrapp were well and truly comfortable with their position.

So it is a little strange that their new material takes a step away from the more aggressive nature of some of their previous work, and takes the plunge into more downbeat, atmospheric settings. It’s still rooted in electronica music, but we see (as in the first single) strings and elements of more organic take hold as the primary means of musical expression. And on “A&E,” it works beautifully. Alison’s voice is as stunning as ever, and the musical backdrop is a perfect fit to how the atmosphere of the song unfolds.

Yet as this formula works on this occasion, it appears to really slow the album down to a near crawl at times. Some songs sound a little like music from the Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips canon (like the song “Cologne Cerrone Houdini”), which is fine, except when they adopt an exhaustively folk sound (the song “Some People”), then it becomes less a primary listening means and more background accompaniment. It is a notion repeated in “Eat Yourself,” and while it is a great exercise in Alison’s vocal work, lacks the recognized vibrancy of some of their other tracks.

Seventh Tree is a little slow in parts, meaning it grabs you far less than they did in the past. But perhaps it is part of their new musical discovery- a task they have taken up quite well regardless. Some of the songs here are still stunning, but unfortunately there isn’t quite enough of the melancholic prettiness of “Road to Somewhere,” and “A&E,” while a classy single, can’t hold up the entire album by itself.

(Mute Records)