With plenty of shimmy, sparkle and stomp, Goldfrapp are back, and in delicious style. To start at the beginning: the lead single, "Ooh La La", hadn't really grabbed me when I'd heard it on the radio/website, but in context as the opening track on the album, it was immediately about 150% better (which is strange given that, as the first track, it didn't yet have any album-related context to speak of - perhaps the lusciousness of the cd packaging had something to do with that, but more likely it was the anticipation of what was to come...listening to it loud and with a decent amount of bass probably helped, too). If it's not already apparent, I hoped for - and pretty much expected - great things of Supernature.
As it happens, "Ooh La La" isn't one of the best songs on the album, but it does provide a pretty reasonable index of where the record's at as a whole; Supernature strikes me as like Black Cherry, but more so. The disco and electro-glam elements are ramped up even higher, the beats are a bit harder, and the singing of Alison Goldfrapp still more very - ever alluring, from dramatic, swooping trills to dark-eyed, mewling sighs through the coy, breathy style in which she carries most of the melodies. For mine, the high points come near the end, in "Koko" and "Satin Chic", but really, all that sets them apart is that they're even more deliriously sweet and darkly pulsating than the rest.
So, another treat from this too-fabulous duo. I can never decide whether I like Felt Mountain or Black Cherry better, and while it's early days yet, I have a feeling that Supernature is in every way their equal.
