Goldfrapp branches out

For its fourth studio album Seventh Tree, electronic duo Goldfrapp has abandoned the dance focus that characterized its last two albums, 2003’s Black Cherry and 2005’s Supernature, and turned to introverted electronica and orchestrations.
The change is a little off-putting at first. Without the propulsive dance beats of its last couple of albums, or even the seductive, dark cabaret style of its debut, 2001’s Felt Mountain, Goldfrapp’s new sound comes off as slow and safe. It’s peaceful, and it’s never bad, but it also feels a little vanilla.
With each listen, though, the album gets catchier. Although it seems to lack surprises the first time through, successive listens reveal the power of its hooks, soaring synthesizers and singer Alison Goldfrapp’s vocals. They’re elements Goldfrapp has always had, but stripped of the distractions of the seductive glam and powerful dance beats that have come to characterize the group’s sound, they show Goldfrapp has enough talent to make it even without its signatures.
“Little Bird,” one of Seventh Tree’s highlights, combines the best of these newly obvious strengths. It starts off with a winding synth line, then adds in Alison singing soft and low, then builds in both volume and pitch until it’s so high and enveloping that it feels like flying. Another one of the best songs on the album “A&E” uses only minimal synth and puts Alison’s crooning and one of co-member Will Gregory’s orchestrations at the forefront.
The album’s only main downfall is that its lyrics can be simple. Usually they’re good, but every so often ones such as “Some people just gotta say / Some people just wanna play” (“Some People”) or “Happiness / How’d you get to be happiness?” (“Happiness”) creep up in what are otherwise profound songs.
But that inconvenience aside, this is a great album. Once the initial shock wears off that Goldfrapp has shed its glitz, you’ll have Seventh Tree’s melodies stuck in your head for days.