this is stellargirl

Goldfrapp
Black Cherry
Mute
brought to you by Egg Boy

Its not often that you get one of those CD samplers at a record store with a ton of artists and it actually turns you on to something…good. But in fact a recent sampler from Virgin Megastore actually had quite a few gems on it.

The real song from that comp that stuck in my cranium was "Train" by the duo known as Goldfrapp. Damn you, Virgin! You made me up and buy their whole CD. Call it impulse. But suddenly their was a distinct need to break free from rock for a record and dig into some retro electro.

Singer Alison Goldfrapp performs Blondie-like aural sex on most every one of the ten tunes on Black Cherry, a synthesized feast of bubbly analog synths and beats. What really separates the 'Frapp is the emotional content, and vocal talents, behind the songs. Often times, work in this genre comes off as vapid, sterile and jokey (Fischerspooner, anyone?). But this album actually has, gulp, DEPTH and melody.

The title track alone is a freshly tweaked ballad sort that in different hands, (Annie Lennox, Celine Dion) would be trite and forgettable. In the hands of this duo, its major/minor chorus and synth strings set the mood for the 21st Century cabaret that the rest of the record embodies.

Nasal drones and video game blips underscore the lo-moan sexed up vocals of 'Tiptoe'. Think Prince circa 'Dirty Mind' squeezed through a computer. 'Hairy Trees' has an aura of 70's prog rock, somehow reminding me of that 'Moonchild' song by King Crimson that was in Buffalo '66 (one of the greatest movies of all time… just ask Vincent Gallo). The S&M urgency of 'Strict Machine' echoes back to 'Train', and that throb suits me just fine. Eat me Beat me Goldfrapp! Im all yours!

Pros: Synth pop that wont be horribly out of style in 4 weeks
Cons: Alison Goldfrapp isn't on my Friendster list
Useful for: light bondage

Metric
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Goldfrapp
Black Cherry
Fleetwood Mac
Say You Will
DJ Dara
Breakbeat Science Exercise 01
The 88
Kind of Light
The Kills
Black Rooster EP
The Libertines
Up the Bracket
Jettatura
Squadra Fantasma
Tone
Ambient Metals
The Streets
Original Pirate Material
Grand Buffet
Cigarette Beach
Roni Size
Touching Down
Rolling Stones
40 Licks
Brendan Benson
Lapalco
Anticon
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