Goldfrapp – Supernature (CD)
Sound: B Music:
B
Why does so much good music come from outside of The
United States? Have the labels and
music makers here become that bored and radio that restrictive? Also, is this linked to duos not getting the
kind of press they used to? Remember
Eurythmics and Hall & Oates at their peak?
Now, we have The White Stripes, Daft Punk, The Ravonettes and a few
other pairings that never seem to get the peak attention and success they
deserve. To add to that list is Goldfrapp,
a British duo on their third album with Supernature, a 2005/6 exercise
in electronic Dance music that has an exceptionally fresh sound and feel to it
reminiscent of the best in the genre since the genre broke out in a new
direction when C+C Music Factory arrived and Prince changed the rules.
The songs here include:
1.
Ooh La La
2.
Lovely 2 C U
3.
Ride A White Horse
4.
U Never Know
5.
Let It Take U
6.
Fly Me Away
7.
Slide In
8.
Koko
9.
Satin Chic
10.
Time Out From The World
11.
Number 1
The bookending tracks have already become a 12” Dance
single hit and the sexy, inviting vocals of lead singer Alison Goldfrapp do not
hurt. Her vocals remain clear in the
most sterling way, no matter how seductive or how much the phrasing swoons
around. These are as fun as they are
smart and sexy. Lovely
2 C U is not as much like a Prince song as the title might suggest,
but has the kind of Pop refrain hook that makes it a winner. Ride A White Horse is another winner,
with its electro-monotone with sides of sexy, smooth sass. Let It Take U will remind one of the
softer side of Kate Bush, while other dance ballads of merit appear, making
this more diverse than Dance material usually gets credit for.
Will Gregory is the other half of the team,
delivering the other side of the creative output and the chemistry is up there
with the best duos and acts in their genres throughout. There is something very appealing and
special about this album, catchy and then after you have heard it a few times,
it grows on you. The duo has been
around for a while and if American radio and U.S. music fans are lucky, this
will be the smash hit it deserves to be.
The PCM 2.0 16bit/44.1kHz Stereo is exceptionally clean
and clear for as state of the art playback as you will get out of the old CD
format. There are also some nice CD
features, including a special playback screen on your PC that will take you to
the website and more. This is
definitely a winner worth your time and yet another winner for Mute Records.
- Nicholas Sheffo
