Am i the only one disappointed Goldfrapp by now almost completely abandoned their "Felt Mountain"-style and are now solely winding down on the glam-electro route? Anyway, "Time Out From The World" could easily have been on the first album, it sounds like a follow up to "Pilots": Gently flowing, nocturnal in texture, floating through a vast open space with delicate electronica and synths building up to a lush finale with an orchestral armada of strings. Despite the electronics it still has this late-60s-John-Barry feeling all over it.
28 Sep 05 ·robert[o]: I doubt you're "only one" who wishes Goldfrapp lingered a tad longer on the slopes of Felt Mountain, but I really feel they made the right choice. "Felt Mountain II - The Sequel" would have been really anticlimactic. The Thin White Duchess, @ his height in the 1970's, had the right impulse - once you've got a trope right; move onwards! A great song tip though, and I would give a shout towards "Let It Take You" likewise. It sounds like John Barry arranging a weird Prince song circa "Purple Rain". 28 Sep 05 ·Mike: You're definitely not the only one, Efti ,and there is one more just here. To me, each successive album has contained fewer magically beautiful tracks than the last, the jump "onwards" into material I find uninteresting being accelerated hugely with the new disc. Robert, the evidence suggests that the choice appears to have been the right one when assessed on the basis of commercial success, but artistically I personally think it a shame they chose to concentrate so much on the "T-Rex with synths material". However I'll return to the new record again in a while and see if it grates less on me... 29 Sep 05 ·eftimihn: Thanks for the song recommendation, Robert. Well, i wouldn't have asked for just another Felt Mountain, but maybe for a slower transition towards their new sound, for keeping that magical feel of such stellar song such as "Pilots" or "Utopia". And "Supernature" feels rather "Black Cherry II" to me, so to me they really haven't moved on from there now either. But i know it's always a topic of debate, the "sticking to their style" vs. "changing/progressing from album to album" thing basically. I mean, did anyone complain The Smiths didn't move on to, say, synth pop? Did anyone complain Kraftwerk using electronics for 30 years? I don't know, i like electronic music a lot, but with Goldfrapp i just feel it's a loss such a gifted arranger like Will Gregory with all the right influences, carrying a Morricone/Barry style into a new contemporary sound, is now so firmly into synths and electronics... 29 Sep 05 ·robert[o]: You have some very valid points - I just don't agree that they apply here. A band/artist need not radically change styles release to release, but I stand by my previous statement when you get it right, move on. "Felt Mountain" got it really, really right. In retrospect, I see the shift for that group as correct move artistically. Likewise, I see "Supernature" not so much as "Black Cherry II", but as the logical fulfillment of the shift that that record, now clearly a transitional LP, suggested. I would also say that "Supernature" is a stronger record than "Black Cherry" on pretty much every front (save perhaps the lack of anything as utterly exquisite "Black Cherry's" title track - which I believe is the group's best song to date.) Now I happen to like the obvious points of reference for "Supernature" - glam rock and electro - as much as I do Italian soundtracks. (All three genres do much the same for me - create their own sonic environments, that play with the contents of my skull.) And if Goldfrapp's next LP is "Supernature II", I will complain loudly - (but I hope/suspect Allison and Will are smarter than that.) And @ the risk of fueling further controversy, many a great band/artist has run a great sound/trope/idea/etc. into the floorboards. (See: The Pixies, The Ramones, The Cocteau Twins, (my beloved) T. Rex and, sadly, The Smiths (post "The Queen is Dead") and Kraftwerk (post "Computer World").) Many of the artists I love best - Bowie, Gainsbourg, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Siouxsie, Wire, The Fall, Broadcast - all remake/remodel themselves every so often. Sometimes said exercise fails - but seem, to me, to create a sense of artistic vitality within the work of said bands/artists. (And "Supernature" feels, to me, thick with that very vitality.) Also let's not fall prey to the reverse snobbery that the commercial success of this LP means it is therefore an inferior piece of work artistically. Remember so much of what this forum champions - Bacharach, Nancy and Lee, Serge, Dusty, etc. - was squarely middle of the road pop music. It makes me very, very happy that people are actually hearing/buying sexy, smart, pop music w/more that a little sense of darkness to it, rather than bland, processed, obvious crap that dominates the charts.
An otherworldly beautiful track. Will Gregory provides an excellent arrangement here: smooth, stylish, elegant, lush orchestration with Barry-esque cinematic soundsacapes, evoking images of a slow-motion nightflight. While there is a strong 60s influence, Gregory throws in some subtle, futuristic sounding digital artefacts giving it a slight neo-noir feel.
To me, Depeche Mode was primarily a great singles band, with the exception of "Some great reward" (1984) and "Violator" (1990), which were consistently great albums. "Enjoy The Silence" shows Depeche Mode at the top of their game: Gore's songwriting talent, Gahan's vocal performance and Wilder's impeccable arrangement. The newly remixed "Enjoy The Silence 04" clearly shows why the original just can't be improved in any way.
from Violator (Mute) available on CD - The Singles 86>98 (Mute)
The title track from Goldfrapp�s second LP is everything pop music should be � sexy, glamorous, smart and weird - but rarely is these days. If their debut album was all about, in the duo�s own words, �Ennio Morricone and disco�, then the follow-up is all about disco and�Ennio Morricone � only wrapped in a shimmering gown early 1980�s inspired electronic textures. Electro-clash with heart and soul, a Madonna song with 170 I.Q., a tune for Milva to sing on Moonbase Alpha � I could go on and on�
22 Nov 04 ·eftimihn: Excellent recommendation and great description. Unfortunately the only track off their sophomore effort that can moodwise hold up to such exquisite songs like "Pilots" or "Utopia" from their debut. 23 Nov 04 ·robert[o]: I actually dig the second LP a great deal. Very disco/electro, (as opposed to Ennio), but really high quality disco/electro. (And simply delivering a "Felt Mountain" Part II would have been a bit dull - I think.) "Forever" and "Hairy Trees" are pretty darn exquisite, likewise. 07 Dec 04 ·catfish: a beautiful track that simply melts into your ears. You get the impression that something very naughty is going on but never quite sure exactly what. Has Rachel Stevens ripped this band off or what? 12 Jan 05 ·OneCharmingBastard: A sumptuous moment from one of this decade's most solid slabs of sound.
Ever wonder what a collaboration between Kate Bush and Gary Numan in, say, 1982 might have sounded like? Well, now you know.... Pure organic/synthetic sex pop, kids. Submit to Allison's tubeway army - resistance is futile!
