Album Review: Goldfrapp - Tales of Us

Goldfrapp
Tales of Us
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Over the years, Goldfrapp have simultaneously enthralled me and exhausted me. Felt Mountain, one of the most striking debuts ever released, was the stunning crossroads between trip-hop and Berlin cabaret culture, all centered by the malleable voice of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's sublime production. This startling beginning was followed by a series of records that found the duo experimenting with a variety of styles that never really seemed to fit them as closely as on their debut. From the glamtronica of Black Cherry, more traditional dance oriented Supernature, folky downtempo Seventh Tree, and 80s influenced Head First Goldfrapp seemed more schizophrenic than genre experimenting, never really letting their own distinct nature dictate the direction, letting their influences take the wheel. Their sixth album Tales of Us is their first record since Felt Mountain that feels like a "Goldfrapp" record, and actually feels like it should have been one of the logical directions the band should have taken, mixing the organic with the electronic along with a subtle line between earnestness and arch-theatricality.

Tales of Us is a song cycle about a variety of characters, with no real thematic through story, only sharing a similar palette of musical motifs and Alison Goldfrapp's very mannered vocals. She chooses a very icy, serious demeanor throughout these tracks. Those looking for the sexiness and campiness of previous records are certain to be disappointed, but it suits the tone of these tracks. The record was recorded slowly over two years in the English countryside, and it has a very pastoral, folky feel to it, with many tracks limited solely to gently plucked acoustic guitars, strings, and voice. First single "Drew" finds Goldfrapp hesitant and soft over delicate guitars and gradually sweeping strings, as if her voice is the sun peaking through clouds of fog.



This attention to detail works well on other tracks like the slightly sinister "Annabel," its interplay of guitars along with the stark nature of Goldfrapp's voice crystalline and riveting,



to the fractured guitar tunings and slightly frantic tone on the vocals on "Jo," ultimately changing from darkness to more sunnier climes in the closing sweep of strings on "Clay."

The tracks that worked best for me were the ones harking back to the glory days of Felt Mountain, featuring the perfect mix of electronics and acoustics. Here, standouts are the subtle "Alavar" which floats along gentle guitar tones, keyboards, and strings, and album highlight "Thea" which could easily fit within Felt Mountain, its haunting electronics burbling throughout, as an almost techno thumb propels the track, Goldfrapp's voice ghostly and wraith-like.



It is tracks like "Thea" which make you long for what could have been with this duo, however, that ship has sailed and we have to look to what they are doing now. I, for one, never really bought them as a glam/electronic act, and this return to their roots, so to speak, makes me hopeful that they are thinking the same. Unfortunately, they haven't quite found the right mix of tracks yet. While stunners like "Thea" and "Alvar" give me hope, there are a few too many hesitant songs on Tales of Us that never really take the record to the next level; from the idle, meandering "Stranger," string heavy "Ulla," to the dusky yet maudlin "Laurel" these songs just tend to stay in one place without providing any momentum.

But these slight down moments on Tales of Us don't detract from the fact that it is their most cohesive record in years, and is always stunningly beautiful, the production always sleek and stunning. While it is doubtful we will ever get another record as brilliant as Felt Mountain from them, there is always hope, based on most of this record, that there is always hope we will.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.