Head First

Goldfrapp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mute U.S.
• ASIN: B0036EBARO
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,813 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

  #21 in

  Music > Dance & Electronic > Electronica

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ten years since Felt Mountain announced their arrival to the wider world, they've perfected the art of delivering the album we didn't know we wanted them to make. Head First is no exception. Head First is Goldfrapp's most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010. Fizzy with inspiration, the brand new single `Rocket' is a goose-bump brilliant tune destined to float out of radios across the land. The diversity, ambition and direction of the new album highlights Goldfrapp as true agenda-setters and modern British musical icons. Head First follows the critically acclaimed Seventh Tree, which saw the NME describe Goldfrapp as `having done the seemingly impossible and become even more fantasy fabulous' and as `sublime, anthemic pop' by The Independent. Head First is the latest in a brilliantly consistent body of work - from the captivating electronic balladry of Mercury nominated debut Felt Mountain and its distorted-dancefloor follow-up, Black Cherry to the glitterball glamour of Supernature which came out in summer 2005 and went on to sell more than a million copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shiny and warm, March 23, 2010

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Head First (Audio CD)

I've given up on trying to figure out what signature sound Goldfrapp is going to embrace next -- they've gone for quirky electronica, robotic club dance, and delicate airy pop. So what do they do in "Head First"? Well, they've drifted back into dance territory, except that this brand of electronica is saturated in retro beats and swooshes.

The sound of a blast-off heralds "Rocket," a bouncy synthpop tune full of random tinkles and squidgy keyboard melodies. "Ooh oh oh, I got a rocket/oh oh oh, you're going on it/oh oh oh, you're never comin' back!" Goldfrapp sings gleefully in the middle of the song.

Things get a bit more downtempo in "Believer," in which the melody flows swiftly around the stacatto beats. And after that, we get a steady stream of bouncy, colorful synthpop that reeks of the 80s -- the icy vocal core of "Alive's" flittery pop anthem, the hard dancy flavor of "Dreaming," the delicate nighttime prettiness of the titular track.

The one thing I really, REALLY couldn't stomach: "I Wanna Life," a perky pop song that sounds like it was cribbed from a bad eighties musical. But there are also some interesting inclusions that are hard to classify -- they introduce a twisting electronic soundscapes of "Hunt," where Alison's vocals play second fiddle to the music. And the final song "Voicething" lives up to its title, dispensing with typical vocals, and instead embracing a ghostly eerie exploration of sound.

"Head First" is definitely not Goldfrapp's best work -- it's fluffy, radio-friendly pop music that only occasionally takes a twist into the unknown. In fact, it's kind of weird to have a band that has done so much cutting-edge music go back to eighties synthpop -- it's completely soaked in that 80s vibe (much like M83's "Saturdays = Youth"), and it left me wondering, "... is that it? They don't have anything new here? It's so... predictable."

For the record: the music is not bad, just predictable and relatively lightweight (compared to the brilliant "Black Cherry," "Felt Mountain" or "Seventh Tree"). Heated dance beats, shimmering layers, and undulating swathes of synth that buzzes, tinkles and whooshes like a spacebound rocket. And they dabble in some darker, more experimental songs in the second half, especially in "Voicething" -- it's a musical synth journey that drifts from one plateau to the next.

Alison Goldfrapp's beautifully chilly voice adds a distinctive sound to the album -- and she does some wonderfully weird stuff, like an entire song filled with inarticulate noises. No words at all. And the lyrics are sometimes even more vivid than the music: "Look at the trees in the dark/bending like a bony finger/Cry for the face on a little moon by the tree..."

"Head First" is a sleek, warm synthpop album that reeks of nostalgia, but that nostalgia also bogs it down -- it lacks the magical brilliance of Goldfrapp's prior works.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like Supernature, definitely give it a listen!, April 16, 2010

By	S. Reeves "Silvo" (VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Head First (Audio CD)

I bought this album last week immediately upon seeing it on Amazon; read no reviews, comments, etc... I'm Goldfrapp fan and it was a new album, click-buy - simple as that. And I'm so glad I did; I love it!

As with many reviews here (I have read a few now out of curiosity) the first thing that jumped out was how much of an "80s" sound it has, which is OK with me. Still modern electro but with a blatant throwback to some 80's pop. I've always been more into Black Cherry and Supernature than Felt Mountain and Seventh Tree (what a surprise with that one..), so the sound of this album was definitely more of what I hoping for. Yeah, it's a little pop'y, but not terribly. The darker tracks "Dreaming" and "Hunt" are fantastic though...

Bottom line, it was absolutely worth buying and I would do it again without a blink!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 80's Synthpop/New Wave Throwback., June 14, 2010

By	NumbMannequin "T" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Head First (Audio CD)

I absolutely love this album. I was disappointed with their last effort. Since I'm a big fan of 80's new wave, I guess my opinion is a little subjective, but oh well, it's still a wonderful album. All the tracks are great. The song "I Wanna Life" draws from the 80's song Gloria by Laura Branigan. I wouldn't call it a cover, but it does have the same melody and beat as the original song Gloria, and it also takes from the song "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" by Johnny Mathis and Deneice Williams. If you've never heard those songs, give them a listen and you'll hear the influence in Goldfrapp's version. I'd have to say this is my favorite album right next to Black Cherry.