Goldfrapp
http://www.feltmountain.com

styles: electronica, trip hop
others: Broadcast, Bjork, Portishead

Felt Mountain
Mute, 2000
rating: 8.0
reviewer: dunc

Goldfrapp (Alison Goldfrapp) mixes film noir soundscapes with influences such as Portishead, Ennio Morricone, Tricky (who she was once the singer for on the Maxinquaye album) and Black Box Recorder. The songs on this sinister debut are pitched at much grander scale than the aforementioned influences. Alison Goldfrapp provides the haunting vocals to these unsettling tracks. The vast soundscapes, especially on "Utopia", seem like they were written for a somber Bond film. These songs have the same dystopian twist of Combustible Edison’s album Schizophonic. Something’s amiss, I can feel it. This is gothic music received from an otherworldly space. Goldfrapp can definitely be filed under night music. Co-ordinate points are joined. "Lovely Head" is fresh and glacial, while "Human" sounds like the plea of a demented android. "Pilots" is a comedown off chemicals, two years too late. Genius non-the-less. However, If you’re looking for music to relax to, this is not the album for you. This will not be coming to a coffee table/soiree near you soon. For every sublime piece of orchestral music or soothing atmosphere there is a disturbing undercurrent of paranoia and heartbreak which will keep the vultures at bay. This is music to stay alive to. But only just.

1. Lovely Head
2. Paper Bag
3. Human
4. Pilots
5. Deer Stop
6. Felt Mountain
7. Oompa Radar
8. Utopia
9. Horse Tears