Goldfrapp - 'Black Cherry' (Mute)
4/5
By: Toby L
It's fair to say that we didn't see this coming. Goldfrapp, of strings and class dripping eeriness... Going... Dance-pop?
Yet, in hindsight, there were subtle undercurrents, admittedly, of a repressed groove amidst the blooming grandeur of their critically-revered debut-LP, 'Felt Mountain'. That the quietly layered beats and Alison Goldfrapp's delicious, tempestuous glamour could convert their highly image-driven product to the nth degree and score a club-hit (the fuzzy synth sex of 'Train'), and a subsequent second album's worth of sleazed-up shakers, was always a hidden prospect. But, even still, seeing it in the flesh... There's some adjusting to be done.
Recovering from the reinvention though, and it's safe to say the sound-shift, in this case, is well-guided. Losing none of the initial fashion-extrovert edge and art-grace from before, this time around, Goldfrapp are just a more embracing conundrum, a group no longer likely to be clad in a mildly gloomy tremor of elitism, enjoyment reserved to those that stroke chins and read 'The Guardian' on a daily basis. This time, the mainstream is being hunted - and will be caught.
Sliced and diced to a mere ten tracks, never once does the standard fall short of expectations. From further violin-etched embers of introspective balladry (the enthralling title-track), or opening mid-pace rumble of 'Crystalline Green', the balance between sharp short spiky thrills and more calculated matter is kept tight; take highlight 'Tiptoe': a beeps-ridden clash of gay-club meets ballroom-dancing scene, a crossover triumph of the highest, most impeccably tasteful order.
It becomes a bit Portishead-shady, meanwhile, during the chilling slump of 'Deep Honey', whilst the intoxicating, overbearing glimmer of 'Hairy Trees' is the closest we get to their original 'FM'-esque heritage, the temptation - presumably - to notch up such hip-grinding concoctions as 'Twist', Donna Summer/electro-swirl of 'Strict Machine' and steamy-Bjork ill-easiness of 'Slippage' too mammoth a possibility to ignore.
A duo with more balls than most, this may not be the return to the limelight we anticipated - but, if anything, that's precisely all we could have hoped for from an act as skilfully endowed and richly experimental as this.
Artists in this article: Goldfrapp
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