Customer Reviews

Tales Of Us

Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory's sixth album is a huge stylistic leap away from their previous release, 'Head First'. Much less immediate than anything they've brought out since 'Felt Mountain', the subtle, seductive, understated 'Tales of Us' is nevertheless also possibly their most rounded and satisfying album to date.

Anyone expecting the poptastic sparkle of 'Head First' or the crunching Eurobeats of 'Supernature' will be bored to death. These are slow, reflective, late-night songs, whose sonic landscape is dominated by acoustic guitar, piano and lush, symphonic strings. Will Gregory's electronica is buried deep in the mix, contributing mainly at the level of texture and atmosphere. The producion is warm and velvety, but still with an edge of dark, slightly pervy menace. Alison Goldfrapp's smouldering vocals are a breathy delight, dripping with deep honey, and still capable of running an icy finger down your spine when she hits the higher registers.

So, the album sounds great, but what's probably most impressive about 'Tales of Us' is the lyrical sophistication of the songwriting, which is a quantum leap ahead of anything in Goldfrapp's earlier canon. The songs operate as oblique, crepuscular character sketches of broken, damaged demi-mondaine men and women. Across the span of the album they cohere together into the aural equivalent of some kind of a Euro film-noir - an impression further reinforced by the cinematic sweep of the music. It's an album that unfolds slowly, and which demands patience and close attention, but which won't let go once it has you in its sinister grip.

'Tales of Us' is the sixth studio album from the seminal Goldfrapp.

Looking at the spread of reviews so far (not just on Amazon) it seems that this record has divided opinion and for a band that has expressed such eclecticism in their career this is not too much of a surprise. As a return to their original Felt Mountain sound fans of the more upbeat euro-pop-synths (Head First) are ultimately left disappointed. This, in my opinion, is a great shame.

I have to admit my allegiance for now - I have always preferred the earlier works - this is the sound I seem to identify with much more. Rich textures of (sometimes cliché) arpeggiated guitar, sweeping synth and downtempo beats. A backing track that is reminiscent of the mystic escapism of Massive Attack draped in haunting poetic vocals.

Throughout this record there remains a folk undertone that mostly takes control of the lyrics and Alison Goldfrapp commands a brooding sincerity that acts as the backbone for the ambience. But the word ambience is perhaps too emotionally soft. Aside from a couple of less memorable tracks, the majority of the record is poised precariously in the more haunting side of chill. Icy, misty, foggy are words that come to mind. Evocatively cascading melodies print images of fairytale lands - the production in the English countryside bearing a clear influence on the production.

This is not a new concept album but Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory have returned to what they do best - whilst the record lacks a diversity in sound or pace it is entirely effective.

I finished this record with shivers. And a desire to tell a lot of people about it. To let people know that Goldfrapp are back.

Listen to: 'Alvar', 'Clay'

An outfit as schizophrenic as Goldfrapp are always going to divide opinion and sure enough those who liked the execrable Head First (which Alison Goldfrapp has gone on record as saying she dislikes) thoroughly object to the mature & low-key tone of this latest opus. Well as far as I am concerned they can eat bingo since this is a superb piece of work and is finally the album hinted at on 2008's "Seventh Tree". Alison sings beautifully with an ethereal undertow which occasionally brings to mind her work on Goldfrapp's classic debut, "Felt Mountain". The backing in the main consists of lush strings and acoustic guitar with the sole exception of "Thea" which lays down some fairly strident beats but nevertheless STILL manages to sound otherworldly! Be aware that this is not pop music, it is mood music but without the dodgy new-age connotations that might bring to mind. Alison is now into her forties I reckon she sounds much more comfortable singing this music which frankly is more appropriate to her age rather than trying to self-consciously sing over something more suitable for someone 15-25 years younger as she attempted to do on Head First with less than stellar results.

Rather than a collection of individual tracks the album works by slow osmosis until you are thoroughly intoxicated by the whole rather the sum of the individual parts (very rare in this iTunes age) and that is part of its overall strength. I hope after the misstep of Head First and perhaps Alison's realisation that going back to the disco is probably not what she or a large portion of her original fanbase (who'll also be in their mid-late 30's/ early 40's) would want that she'll continue in this atmospheric and introspective vein whilst continuing to evolve in the patented Goldfrapp fashion.

Buy it. Listen to it when you are stuck in an awful traffic jam and all the other drivers will seem like poor frustrated irate hotheads compared to the loveliness in your head.

It arrived earlier than expected (just before Christmas) and included a cd in addition to the vinyl album which was an added bonus. Great album full of haunting but sweet melodies.

This album is not composed of synthpop songs like Head First. The songs are laid back but unlike the Spaghetti Western style tracks on Felt Mountain. This acoustic-style album is a new direction for Goldfrapp and is very easy on the senses. Recommended.

If you are looking for some happy-clappy, surface stuff or in-your-face aggression you're in the wrong place. If you are after something that reaches deep into you and floods you with gorgeousness and feminine empathy then ask no more questions: just buy this one; it's without comparison. Yes, it seems a little samey at first hearing, but it soon draws you into its sumptuousness. There is not a duff track on it and I just can't stop listening to it. We all knew she had it in her since the miraculous Felt Mountain (and the orgasmic Deer Stop). It has been a long time coming but worth the wait.

MUSIC
This is Goldfrapp near their best again...... Its not quite as stunningly beautiful or glossily sharp as Felt Mountain and Supernature, which still remain the absolute peak of their output to date.
Although I could say this is a close second to those albums (and to do so sounds like damning with faint praise), it is a really lovely and gentle work in its own right. Its a bit of a slow burner, so 30 seconds of each track on an MP3 sampler will do nothing for this record. And it is an album in the old fashioned sense; thoughts, feelings, emotions and a genuinely reflective sensibility, all strung together with an idea or two and the sense that there is a distinctly mature and dignified reaction to the fragile human world around us. If you want a snapshot, look carefully at the album artwork: it really is the whole record in a single picture. There's perhaps not as many artists around doing that as one might first think.....

SOUND
This CD sounds great! The overall quality of production and mastering is superb: delicate, subtle, and offering lots of texture and low level detail.
It reminds me of King Creosote and Jon Hopkin's "Diamond Mine", which is one of the best (contemporary), recordings of recent years. I haven't checked the sleeve notes for Tales of Us and can't say if it is an analogue or a digital effort, but listened to only on the reference dCS-ATC-Bryston system it seems to have the overall cleanliness of a modern digital recording without the harshness and overly bright spot-lit effects of some poorer and more crude productions. Interestingly, there seems to be very little in the way of compression and an unusually wide loud to whisper-quiet sense pervades the album, best shown with Alison Goldfrapp's extraordinary voice.

I have been a Goldfrapp fan since a magazine article stirred my curiosity and I bought her first album, Felt Mountain. Since then she has gone through many changes but nothing, in my opinion, matched the juxtaposition of cinematic grandeur and intimacy.
I am glad to say she has gone full circle and this is her best LP yet. The songs are simple with beautiful vocals and lovely acoustic guitar. All this is overplayed by a well orchestrated string section. I think this is best enjoyed on vinyl and the a-side is sublime.

At last ! I've been waiting a few years for a return to the more thoughtful style of music that they excel at and here it is ..Dark, moody, introspective and quite simply a return to the Goldfrapp sound that I first fell in love with back in the Felt Mountain days.. This to my mind anyway is real Goldfrapp rather than the disposable electro-pop they occasionally deliver. a 5-star album for sure and so good to hear Goldfrapp right back on top form .