Let’s review every Goldfrapp Album - The Results!

I thought it would be interesting to revisit Goldfrapp’s back catalogue (similar to the Depeche Mode thread). Seven albums in total. A new poll every 3 days.

Felt Mountain was generally well received by music critics, and was described as “simultaneously smarmy and seductive, yet elegant and graceful”.[5]It peaked at number 57 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in October 2001. In 2001, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album from the previous year.

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The good tracks are great but I get a bit bored at halfway.

I only bought this album when I realised Alison was on Maxinquaye.

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She sang with Orbital too around that time.

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…And Add N To X. She comes in at 3.29 on this

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I think it’s great. Yeah, a couple of weaker tracks but far more good to great ones. Even many of the slower ones work as the whole thing gels together well. Lots of atmosphere. Sounded very fresh to everything else I was listening to at the time.

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Dunno, I feel like I should like Goldfrapp more than i do as they tick a lot of boxes in terms of what i go for in pop music. Their best tracks are brilliant but they struggle to sustain my interest over a whole album. I’ll mark this one a 3, can’t be arsed giving it another listen but might do with some of the later ones.

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Fuck! That was her!
It’s such a great track

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Aye, Add N To X were ace. Great fun live.

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I remember being highly cynical of Goldfrapp when they first arrived on the scene, without ever doing any research into them or knowing who they were. I didn’t really like the singles off this record and viewed them as some cynical cash in on Portishead.

My headphone jack is broken on my phone but I’ll be interested to revisit this debut (and thread!) as I love just about every record they put out after this one.

And, to caveat, I was a bit of a music snob / dick at the time this emerged.

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I’ve always seen Goldfrapp as a project to showcase Alison’s Voice. Will is happy to be very much in the background. I really like the way they try to change the style with each album.

I knew a lot more of this than I thought I would. Obviously been used loads in TV shows and adverts!

It’s pretty good eh? Not the kind of material they do that I tend to prefer but an incredibly strong debut album.

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Pretty sure I bought this at the same time as QOTSA Rated R. Which means that’s coming up to 20yrs too. Damn I feel old

Deer Stop is a strong shout for my favourite ever song. So, yeah, fucking great record.

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Black Cherry is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 23 April 2003 by Mute Records. It marked a departure from the ambient sound of their debut album, Felt Mountain (2000), incorporating glam rock and synthpop music; inspirations were Spanish discogroup Baccara and Swedish techno artist Håkan Lidbo. The album was met with positive reviews, with many critics complimenting its blend of retro and modern electropop music.

The album debuted at number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of May 2005, it had sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide. Black Cherry yielded four singles, including “Strict Machine”, which reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. It earned the band a nomination for Best British Dance Act at the 2004 Brit Awards. The album was supported by the Black Cherry Tour (2003–04)

BLACK CHERRY - GOLDFRAPP

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Damn, missed the vote for Felt Mountain. Oh well.
Black Cherry is a marvel, not least because they basically looked at Felt Mountain and said “yep, let’s do an album full of esoterically erotic electro instead”, and then proceeded to fucking nail it. It is deeply sexy on an instinctive level (because honestly god only knows what Alison is ever actually writing about) and one of the most unique sounding albums out there; if anyone were to ask me to define the Goldfrapp ‘sound’, even though Seventh Tree is my personal favourite, I’d point them toward Black Cherry. I think partly because while most Goldfrapp albums work as showcases for Alison’s voice (as Brainfreeze mentioned), Will’s work comes to the fore the most with Black Cherry, it feels like the best marriage between two songwriters pushing each other to come up with something exciting and new.

Tiptoe is, frankly, still unbelievable nearly 17 years later. Startlingly brilliant.

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Not a lot of albums I immediately rate and go back to again and again but this is one. Flawless tunes and sequencing and how can anybody not smile at Train, Twist and Strict Machine. It’s the only Goldfrapp I’ve ever needed.

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Very well summed up there!

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They nailed it, and so did you with that summary. It’s second to Seventh Tree for me too. I’m pretty sure I had sex to Black Cherry a few times at uni! Don’t ask me how far into the album I got

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The title track is such a fucking swoon. I saw them live when they toured this record (the Astoria I think) and when she bags it up an octave at the end they turned a disco ball on and it was absolute magic.

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If I was a cynical dick about their first LP, imagine what a teenage indie fan made of a band who suddenly changed their image, went electro and got even trendier?

6 months on though, and every decent club night I’d frequented was pumping out Strict Machine and Train, and I was blitzing this record as a begrudging Goldfrapp fan. But I was certain they’d just got lucky. Thankfully I stopped being an arse towards them on the next record.

But I still love Black Cherry. I adore the ‘barely give a fuck’ vocals on Train, the hushed sexiness of Twist, the relentless distorted keyboard that sounds like it’s turned up too loud on Strict Machine. It’s bloody brilliant and hasn’t aged anything like that electroclash era has.

For me, the true start of a love affair.

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