Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

Seventh Tree, the new Goldfrapp album, was released last week. On Goldfrapp's first 3 albums, the sound progressed from downtempo on Felt Mountain, to uptempo on Black Cherry, to all-out electro-sleaze on Supernature. So I was quite surprised when I heard the first track on Seventh Tree, Clowns, which prominently features Allison's vocals, accompanied by only a very simple instrument arrangement. This same basic characteristc is more or less followed on the rest of the album's 9 songs. The thumping beats which were a staple on the other albums are almost entirely absent here. Needless to say, the sound is a stark departure from that of their previous albums. I think I was so surprised by the new sound that I didn't give the album a fair listen the first time I heard it, and I dismissed it as a failed experiment. But with each successive listen the album has grown on me. Unlike Black Cherry, the magnificence of which is immediately apparent, it's taken several listens before the magnificence of Seventh Tree was apparent to me. Presently Seventh Tree is my second favorite Goldfrapp album, behind Black Cherry, although I would not be surprised if before long it's my favorite.

Goldfrapp has had some great music videos in the past, including Utopia, Train, and my favorite, Strict Machine. The music video for A&E, the Seventh Tree lead single, is no exception:



I really hope that when they're done releasing music videos from Seventh Tree they release a DVD with all their music videos.