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Goldfrapp has always been a band that understood a dying art: the art of the album cover as a cohesive image for the audio strains. Felt Mountain was a sepia toned reflected image of Alison Goldfrapp as a Weimar chanteuse, Black Cherry was a collage of Alison as wolf-lady circus act, Supernature was a dark glam-rock vixen enticing you to come with her behind the curtain. And now comes Head First which has a beautiful, vibrant cover image of Alison Goldfrapp amongst the clouds. The warm blues and pinks make sense given the shiny, warm and vibrant synth-pop that is inside. It might be the ‘least’ of Goldfrapp’s discography, but it’s still solid from front to back.
Having obviously brushed up on Xanadu-era Olivia Newton John, early Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure and the happier Eurythmics singles, Head First could have easily come out in 1984. Lead single “Rocket” makes that cover of “Physical” seem not only less ironic, but like it was always going to happen. It’s the kind of song with such a huge chorus that it’ll get stuck in your head for days. And the way she coos “I’ve got a rocket/You’re going on it” sounds both like a sexual challenge and a kiss off. Then there’s the next song, “Believer,” which creates some of Blondie’s “Dreaming” and adds a lot of Erasure-sized disco-pop. It’s a piece of fluffy synth-fueled candy that sounds right out of the original New Wave. “Shiny and Warm” adds a dash of David Bowie’s “Hang On to Yourself” glam-rock to the gloriously strange pop heights Goldfrapp can reach on any song. And “Voicething” returns us to Goldfrapp’s biggest inspiration, the ethereal fairy acid-queen, Kate Bush. Without any real lyrics to speak of, Alison Goldfrapp unleashes the operatic voice within her, challenging Will Gregory to match the impossibly high notes that she can hit with his army of synthesizers and programming.
These are the highlights, and while the rest of the album is by no means slumming it, it all does get a little same-y after a while. It’s all a Hi-NRG workout, but a welcome change of pace from the English duo. With every album being a new left or right turn into some weirder territory, never once repeating themselves, Goldfrapp feel like the latest welcome addition to the heirs of the pop thrones held by Madonna and Debbie Harry. Goldfrapp has always been a mix of Kate Bush and Debbie Harry’s ironic, artsy-weirdo disco vamp. They have created five solid albums. Why aren’t they bigger here in the U.S.? DOWNLOAD: “Rocket”
