After one listen to Goldfrapp’s Supernature album, it is clear why the Brit. duo has garnered comparisons to T.Rex, possibly the best band to have come out of the glam rock movement. Like Marc Bolan, Alison Goldfrapp (the better known half of the duo) exudes a type of raw sexuality that makes you squirm with delight. But critically, Goldfrapp’s third full-length album has received mixed reviews; some praise it for its fun, disco-inspired beats, while others ridicule its “dullness.” This divide is fair, however, as the album at times shows brilliance, but ultimately doesn't hold up altogether.
Supernature is built on the wide usage of four-on-the-floor bass drums, electric guitars, electric keyboards, and synthesizers, diffusing together to produce something that is a nice cross between pop and electronica. The infectious single “Ooh La La” is easily a favorable dance track; it's boldly sexual and fun at the same time, while "Number 1,” their feel-good, easy flowing ballad is more of a spacey pop affair. "Number 1" is closely similar to their other single off the album, “Fly Me Away,” a wintry (it was also the song for one of Ikea's winter collections commercial) song showcasing Allison's soft voice. Both "Lovely 2 C U" and "Ride a White Horse" feature strong drums and synths in tracks that feel like a bold strut with fearless attitude. "Satin Chic" is a pleasant surprise radiating a cabaret-like mood crossed with electronica.
But the album also slows down at times; songs like “Time Out From the World,” and “Let it Take You” detract from its brilliance. They simply don't belong in this album; Goldfrapp has stated that they never intended to make dance records, but the popularity of their previous two albums especially among the club-going crowd has propelled them to make a dance album. Yet, their less inspired, more melancholy moments on the album feel more like the shutdown of dancers.
Still, one of the biggest appeals of Supernature is undoubtedly the lyrics, which are clearly of the glam tradition. In "Ooh La La," there's a blatant sex-laden aura that helps set up the mood for the rest of the album:
"Switch me on, turn me up
Don't want it Baudelaire
Just glitter lust"
And one can easily imagine Marc Bolan penning something like "Satin Chic:"
"Dressed up lizard green
Celluloid seventeen
Lip gloss bold as blood
You got em linin' up"
While Supernature doesn’t hold up in its entirety, its better tracks are enough to override the duller, less inspired ones. The album is a daring, spacey type of world filled with glitter, sex, and a fashionably, subtle, unapologetic attitude. If anything, Goldfrapp has proven that glam is still alive and well.
"Supernature" is on sale December 31, 1969 from Mute.
