Album: Goldfrapp <!-- none onestar twostar fourstar fivestar -->

Supernature, MUTE

Few of the acts thrown up by the electroclash scene of a few years back have prospered as well as Goldfrapp, who parlayed the dreamy widescreen glamour of their Felt Mountain debut into the pulsing erotic techno-pop of Black Cherry. Having arrived at their signature style, however, there's little indication of further development on Supernature, which basically just re-treads the same themes and influences. The abbreviations of titles such as "Lovely 2 C U" and "Let It Take U" recall that previous imp of the erotic, Prince, and there are hints elsewhere of Kate Bush's phrasing and, in "Ride a White Horse", the glacial sophisto-mystery of Marlene Dietrich. There's even another re-casting of the classic "Spirit in the Sky" riff (following Black Cherry's "Strict Machine") in the opening single "Ooh La La", a sensual synthesiser boogie in which Alison Goldfrapp invites us to "Switch me on/Turn me up". But save for occasional moments such as the You Only Live Twice-style strings that lend an 007 hedonist thrill to "Time out from the World", and the perky tack-piano that adds a touch of risqué music-hall charm to "Satin Chic", the dominant tone here is of the vintage retro-futurist synth-pop of the Seventies and Eighties, from Giorgio Moroder to Gary Numan. Robo-sexual heaven, if that's your thing, but a touch monotonous.