GOLDFRAPP “The Singles” /CD/

Second compilation album by Brithish Synth Pop project.
Goldfrapp have spent the past decade moving back and forth between icy Electro-Glam and Atmospheric balladry, delivering these extremes in tonally consistent albums that dare to alienate listeners who favor one style over the other. Despite this polarity, the duo has a remarkably consistent aesthetic, with a gloss of aloof sexiness and cinematic glamour connecting the sci-fi cabaret number "Utopia", the sinister S&M throbber "Strict Machine", the swelling ballad "Black Cherry", the Glam Rock stomp "Ooh La La", and the spacey yet pastoral Folk tune "A&E".
Following the duo's departure from EMI in August 2010, it was confirmed in April 2011 that Goldfrapp had begun work on their sixth studio album. In December 2011 Mute announced that a fourteen-track retrospective compilation titled "The Singles" would be released on 6 February 2012 by Mute and Parlophone, including the biggest singles from their five studio albums, as well as two brand-new songs, "Melancholy Sky" and "Yellow Halo". "Melancholy Sky" was released on 3 January 2012 as the compilation's lead single, while a video for "Yellow Halo" was directed by Lisa Gunning and entirely shot on Gunning's iPhone in South America. Both of the new cuts call back to their delicate, loungey debut, "Felt Mountain", but Gregory's approach has evolved with time, integrating elements of each record along the way. These songs may be a deliberate move to come full circle at the end of this retrospective set, but they could just as well point to a future in which the duo can comfortably let all aspects of its sound coexist on one record, as they do on this collection.
"The Singles" as a whole feels like a more complete and satisfying journey than either of Goldfrapp's last two albums, progressing confidently from crushing guitar-driven Boogie to weightless Space Pop!
Astralwerks/Mute Records Ltd., 2012 (509993 01167 2 6). Used: good.


Tracklist:
1. Ooh La La 3:26
2. Number 1 3:25
3. Strict Machine 3:43
4. Lovely Head 3:48
5. Utopia 3:51
6. A&E 3:19
7. Happiness 3:37
8. Train 4:11
9. Ride A White Horse 3:44
10. Rocket 3:52
11. Believer 3:44
12. Black Cherry 4:57
13. Yellow Halo 4:43
14. Melancholy Sky 4:27
Total playing time: 54:47


Samples: http://www.last.fm