Goldfrapp A&E Track Hits iTunes
British Electronic Act Previews New Single from Album Seventh Tree
First single from forthcoming Goldfrapp CD, Seventh Tree, available now for download, may surprise long-time fans of the electronic act.
Goldfrapp release first single “A&E” from their forthcoming album Seventh Tree. The new song from their 4th studio album is available now to download from iTunes and other music download sites.
Long-time fans of the band, lead by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, have come to know Goldfrapp as an enigmatic group that filled the void left by Portishead and eventually went on to produce 2 solid electronic dance albums Black Cherry and Supernature.
Their return to a more ethereal sound on Seventh Tree, reminiscent of smashing debut, Felt Mountain, came as a surprise to many. Buzz around the new ‘Folk’ album has caused a stir among fans awaiting a new version of favourite “Strict Machine”.
Many music bloggers (DMW Amanda Nanawa on December 15, 2007) and other web sources have described Goldfrapp’s new album as "unplugged" or "acoustic". While it’s true their latest incarnation is more stripped down and less techno and dance-floor friendly than previous efforts, they certainly haven’t morphed into Joni Mitchel.
Goldfrapp Crawls on Dancefloor
With everyone from Kylie Minogue to Britney Spears adopting the electro-tinged girl-bot sound Goldfrapp made popular on their previous killer albums, Goldfrapp have made a complete departure and instead have turned towards a more subdued sound.
“A&E” starts gently with Alison Goldfrapp whisper-singing “It's a blue, bright blue Saturday, hey hey/And the pain is starting to slip away, hey hey” as the song builds on an acoustic guitar and keyboard base, a familiar, yet mature sounding euro-pop standard.
With their usual knack for crafting songs that can be at times troubling and tender, Goldfrap continue “I'm in a backless dress on a pastel ward that's shining/ Think I want you still/ But there may be pills at work”.
Goldfrapp may have written the most beautiful track of their career. A painful break-up song filled with stinging emotion that builds to a chaotic electronic drum clash climax before toning back down towards a gentle exit.
“Do you really wanna know how I was dancing on the floor/ I was trying to phone you when I'm crawling out the door,” Goldfrapp coos as if describing the tone of the new album. While their new song won’t fill the dance floor as previous singles “Oh La La” and “Ride a White Horse” did, "A&E" doesn’t disappoint.
Delicate Seventh Tree
"We did talk quite a lot about what kind of instruments would get that kind of warmth and that kind of sound we wanted," Alison Goldfrapp told Billboard online magazine (Michael D. Ayers, N.Y. December 10, 2007). "We'd never used acoustic guitars before. We wanted the sound to be delicate, but not weak".
Goldfrapp releases Seventh Tree, which includes lead single “A&E”, on February 26, 2008 in the United States, one day earlier in the United Kingdom.
