Dolly Parton once famously said: "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!". Something in that vein could be said about Goldfrapp's fifth studio album Head First. The songs are deceptively simple and the sound is trashy commercial late 70's/early 80's disco pop - but it must have taken real dedication and artistry to get those synths to sound just right and not too obviously retro in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way.
All the tracks remind you of some other music, heard long ago, only half-remembered - or does it? I think Goldfrapp may have accomplished something extraordinary: nostalgic music that refers to an earlier time that never was. There are wisps of ABBA here and there, a smattering of Giorgio Morroder...but nothing too concrete or identifiable.
The album counts only nine tracks, most of them around the three/four minute mark - an oldfashioned vinyl kind of tracklist. It's a good thing though: nothing really outstays its welcome.
Rocket - The first single and possibly the most commercial thing Goldfrapp ever produced. The chorus is designed to do just one thing: anchor itself in your head to never, ever leave again.
Believer - If Kraftwerk and ABBA would have had a baby, it could possibly have sounded like this. This is a real favourite on the album for me. Gorgeous vocals by Alison throughout the track with sparse use of those retro synths.
Alive - This is one of those tracks that reminds you of about three or four other songs but you couldn't name them if your life depended on it. A cheerful tune that bops along nicely with synths that give you flashbacks to Atari gamecomputers and early digital watches. I like how it all just ends - most songs on Head First do: a quite sudden end without ceremony.
Dreaming - The longest track on the album at just over five minutes, it takes its time to build and grow. At first I thought it was the weakest song on the album, but now I see that Dreaming reveals its beauty only after repeated listens.
Head First - Title track and centrepiece of the album, this really makes me think of Scissor Sisters. I can so easily imagine them performing this song. Quite a bit of ABBA in here as well. It's all just so damn likeable!
Hunt - Much more 'Goldfrappy' than everything that went before, Hunt is a gorgeous song. 'All you love you destroy/Everyone is your toy', Alison breathes over a very sparse backing track.
Shiny and Warm - Again, a lot more obviously Goldfrapp than the other songs. And again, the instrumentation is so economic it's almost not there. Alison is wearing her Strict Machine persona on this, which I always enjoy a lot.
I Wanna Life - A chorus so fat and in-your-face it will probably be the next single. Meh.
Voicething - A gorgeous doodle.
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