Music : Seventh Tree

Rating: - David Lo Pan
Ok for people that know the film Big Trouble in Little China would you agree that Goldfrapp are a lot like David Lo Pan. Let me explain - one part of them is interesting music and is quite orchestral and the other half is this rubbish glam disco. So basically two different sides.

So for the people that enjoyed Felt Mountain this album is very similar. Quite orchestral in the construction but they have took influence from their dabble in electronic. The result is quite spectacular.

So for a musical intellect it is definitely worth an inspection. For the less intellectual that crave electro pop then go elsewhere.

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Rating: - Astounding
This is why, when captive on an aeroplane, you should listen/watch different stuff. This is the most compelling new album I've heard for a while - keep listening to it, and discovering new depths. It's clever, simultaneously retro and bang up to date, and quite fascinating. Remarkable.

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Rating: - Mmmmmmmm
I am in the "not sure" camp on this one. It's as if Alison and Will have dug out their old Sundays and Cocteau Twins CDs and used them for inspiration (not that that's a bad thing!) Moments of magic, but I have come to expect more from the guys than this

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Rating: - Sumptuous
Yes, of course, most album reviews on Amazon are positive, and much of the rest are from people crying 'sell out'.

Well, for what 42 years on the planet and a first ever Amazon review are worth, this is one of those very very rare albums that takes music to a new level, that even on first listening you know will live on, not necessarily defining an era, but being forever known and rediscovered. It's that good.

With the possible exception of 'Caravan Girls', nothing on this album is weak or forced - it experiments, disturbs and delights whilst at all times demonstrating an utter mastery of the craft of beautiful song writing. And underneath all of that, there remains the slightly disturbed aura of Felt Mountain that led to it being the soundtrack to the magnificent 'Monkey Dust'.

Amazon is full of supposedly 'must have' albums; this is a real one.

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Rating: - Predictably different, surprisingly effective
Alison Goldfrapp is not one for standing still. Her turn-of-the-century debut, Felt Mountain, was a masterpiece of downtempo yearning, 2003's Black Cherry a synthpop-disco extravaganza, and 2005's Supernature a mix of electronica and stick-in-your-head indie. Seventh Tree, her musical vehicle's fourth studio outing, shows more clearly than ever her intention for reinvention.

A stripped down, chary mien, Seventh Tree is a rare journey through the mind of the woman known for refusing to reveal even her age.

It kicks off, or rather eases in, with Clowns, a gentle, strummy treat, complete with wispy Vashti Bunyan-esque vocals. Immediately there is a feel that we're not in for the same disco and glam pop beats of the past.

If the opener is an evening in a quaint cottage with a cup of green tea, the second track, Little Bird, feels like an invitation to fling open the door and go out onto the green grass of summer. As she sings `July, July, now we are free', Goldfrapp is leading us into new territories. At long last, she is opening up.

The standout track is Eat Yourself, a four-minute adventure of retrospective allure, dealing with the old classic, unrequited love. Happiness feels like Ride A White Horse's freethinking cousin, and Cologne Cerrone Houdini is trip-hop at its best - heavy bass, choppy violin and all.

The album isn't perfect though. Some People and A&E are forgettable breaks from the intimate yardstick, with more than a shade of an outsider onlooking, if not jumping on, the nu folk bandwagon. But by that point, the herbal remedies have already had their affect.

The final track, Monster Love, sees a return to best: all the beauty of Isobel Campbell with added urgency. The lyrics say it all, `Everything comes around. Here is where we start and where we end.' The journey is over, and it's been a tranquil ride.

Those looking for the catchy hooks of previous albums will find a mixed bag of eery melodies and dainty laments, but nothing especially radioplay-worthy. One thing's for sure though; this is the album Goldfrapp has been waiting to make, and it truly is like nothing she has produced before.