Admiration must be dealt to the duo as they have unexpectedly change tact on album four. Out go the synths (mostly) and in come the acoustic guitars. It's make-or-break time for the band as they desert the genre that finally made them stars with Supernature back in 2005.
Seventh Tree sees Goldfrapp leaving the dancefloor and fleeing to the coffeehouse, with a floating, hippy feel prevailing. Excellent first single A&E starts off calm and unassuming, swirls through Kate Bush territory, before fading back into a simple guitar riff.
Cologne Cerrone Houdini (the new tongue-twister sweeping the nation) almost has a title too pompous to merit listening, but is actually a cool, sophisticated track that mixes a wistful mood ('I'm in your car / But not your life') with dreamy, high-pitched vocals recalling elements of Felt Mountain.
Happiness is a clever observation of today's self-help culture summed up by: 'Donate all your money / We'll make it better'. Here, the synths return, squelching and swooshing away, and is an obvious choice for 2nd single.
Elsewhere, however, the majority of tracks are less instantly appealing. Clowns is barely audible and along with Eat Yourself, features rather disturbing lyrics - the former concerning Barbies and 'titties' and the latter commencing with the line 'If you don't eat yourself / No doubt the pain will instead'. Perhaps these are stabs at poignancy, but instead of being engagingly offbeat they're both easily skippable.
Monster Love is a decent finish, tying up the bittersweet mood of the album in the key line: 'Here is where we start / and where we end'. The sentiment could return to haunt them - will the start of a new sound also be the end to their success? Touches of cleverness and ingenuity are ruined by confusing lyrics, but the album is still worth investigating for the precious few gems. 3/5.
