Seventh Tree is the follow up to "Supernature", Goldfrapp's best selling album to date. Luckily the group haven't made Supernature II - The Revenge, but the critics haven't seen it like that.Supernature moved Goldfrapp way into the mainstream. Madonna cited it as the principle influence for "Confessions on the Dancefloor". And so we find reviewers confused by this new direction for Goldfrapp. Whereas this album is, in many ways, a return to the place Goldfrapp call normal.
Alison's vocals seem on this album to be a cross between Joan Baez, Joni Mitchel and herself. You're just getting settled into a song when her trademark wail comes on reminding you exactly who you're listening to.
Goldfrapp are a group who suffer badly from press pigeonholing. So this album has been seen as a disappointing thumping dance soundtrack but that's okay because it isn't supposed to be that at all.The closest I can come is Joni Mitchel does Lemmonjelly. But obviously that's not quite it at all either. Standout tracks like Happiness, A&E and Caravan Girl aren't even like each other.
It deserves to be a classic because this time Goldfrapp have toned down the things that sometimes make them difficult to approach. It seems their most balanced album to date. Certainly worth a listen, even if you've shunned the 'frap before.
