After the gold rush

The psychedelic folk of Seventh Tree, Goldfrapp's fourth release, is a clear departure from 2005’s acclaimed glittery romp Supernature, a neo-disco album accentuated by the electropop duo's tricked-out concerts boasting furs, lingerie, nipple tassels, and spooky animal heads. "With Supernature every space was taken up by synths, guns firing simultaneously," Alison Goldfrapp says, explaining how this time she and Will Gregory opted for a melancholic yet optimistic sound, a lush marriage of delicate finger-picking, rosy "Californian sunshine" bounce, and swelling strings that evoke "naive English horror films."

The result finds Goldfrapp slipping out of her dirty dancing shoes for an idyllic Sunday comedown, but Seventh Tree still delivers the high cinematic drama Goldfrapp’s gay followers have grown to love, as the songstress coolly navigates through the dippy buoyancy of "Happiness," the sepulchral gloom of the self-destructive "Eat Yourself," and the galloping fervor of its gorgeous first single, "A&E":

Bottom line: more "nature" than Supernature, Goldfrapp's new album is still super gay.

-- JASON LAMPHIER

Previously > Alison Goldfrapp gives us woodies!