Goldfrapp - Silver Eye

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Some people think that big/anthemic choruses make a catchy tune. I think that simple choruses that consist of one sentence only can make a good and catchy chorus, too. Anymore and Ocean are fantastic and memorable, at least to my ears.

There's very little one should be able to tell from 1-min snippets and yet there are some who make judgments and talk about being 'disappointed' with that sole evidence. The only thing I can tell from the snippets is that Silver Eye seems to be more of a subtle and subdued affair. Some people feel underwhelmed when music doesn't grab them by the throat or blow them away. I was impelled to listen to the album even when I did not find anything very striking or remarkably attention-grabbing, precisely because I believe the beauty here might not be on the hooks and choruses but on other aspects. What's interesting is that before you could find that subtlety on their folk albums but now it's here side to side with the electronics of their more extroverted albums.

Ironically Anymore and Ocean the two tracks that I've listened on full have left me cold. From the snippets, Ocean was the one I was least interested in.
 
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Has anyone received their tickets for the NYC shows yet? I'm not a local and will be flying in the day before. They'll ship well before, right? Never bought from this vendor (Music Glue) before.
 
I received my copy for review this morning (I say my copy for review but it's actually only a protected stream). The album is great people. Panic over. Anymore and Ocean are the weakest songs on there. The production is seriously incredible all the way through. Everything Is Never Enough is the standout after my first play. It appeals to my love of late 70s/early 80s synth pop. I'm feeling very relieved right now.
 
Album review from The Arts Desk:

Silver Eye is Goldfrapp’s seventh long-player in an 18-year career that has taken in electronica sounds of all stripes. It sees the duo make a stab at melding together the club-friendly electropop and the witchy rural folk-noir sounds of their repertoire. Not ones to repeat themselves sonically, this involves the band inhabiting a sound characterised by dirty and sparse electronics with distorted, helium-powered vocals that annoyingly bring to mind Thereza Bazar of Eighties pop-muppets, Dollar.

While this is initially an interesting and intriguing concept, it soon starts to wear pretty thin. Silver Eye is ultimately a bit of a disappointment that never really makes up its mind whether it's pop or experimental in tone, and doesn’t successfully bridge the gap between the two.

Set opener “Anymore” promises interesting things, its cold and metallic sound propelled with a subliminal house beat that brings to mind Death In Vegas’s recent collaborations with Sasha Grey, while “Tigerman” plays like a spaced-out electro torch song. However, as one tune flows into another, Alison Goldfrapp’s breathy and floaty vocals, paired with Will Gregory’s cold and stand-offish sounds and ambient washes, feel noticeably in need of a decent tune to engage the listener.

Things do perk up a bit towards the end of the album with the minimalist disco of “Everything Is Never Enough” and the pulsating, down-tempo groove of “Moon in Your Mouth”. During the album’s final tune, Goldfrapp even finally turn off the Thereza Bazar vocal effects and lift things up with a more engaging pulse. However, it’s all too little, too late. The closing song “Ocean” might easily be the anonymous soundtrack to a car advert, but nonetheless benefits considerably by comparison with much of the rest of the album.
 
Album review from The Arts Desk:

Silver Eye is Goldfrapp’s seventh long-player in an 18-year career that has taken in electronica sounds of all stripes. It sees the duo make a stab at melding together the club-friendly electropop and the witchy rural folk-noir sounds of their repertoire. Not ones to repeat themselves sonically, this involves the band inhabiting a sound characterised by dirty and sparse electronics with distorted, helium-powered vocals that annoyingly bring to mind Thereza Bazar of Eighties pop-muppets, Dollar.

While this is initially an interesting and intriguing concept, it soon starts to wear pretty thin. Silver Eye is ultimately a bit of a disappointment that never really makes up its mind whether it's pop or experimental in tone, and doesn’t successfully bridge the gap between the two.

Set opener “Anymore” promises interesting things, its cold and metallic sound propelled with a subliminal house beat that brings to mind Death In Vegas’s recent collaborations with Sasha Grey, while “Tigerman” plays like a spaced-out electro torch song. However, as one tune flows into another, Alison Goldfrapp’s breathy and floaty vocals, paired with Will Gregory’s cold and stand-offish sounds and ambient washes, feel noticeably in need of a decent tune to engage the listener.

Things do perk up a bit towards the end of the album with the minimalist disco of “Everything Is Never Enough” and the pulsating, down-tempo groove of “Moon in Your Mouth”. During the album’s final tune, Goldfrapp even finally turn off the Thereza Bazar vocal effects and lift things up with a more engaging pulse. However, it’s all too little, too late. The closing song “Ocean” might easily be the anonymous soundtrack to a car advert, but nonetheless benefits considerably by comparison with much of the rest of the album.

I looked up Theresa Bazar and Dollar in Youtube and I don't see any resemblance. Alison Goldfrapp's vocals breathy and floaty? There might be ten adjectives at least that describe them better. Some reviewers forget to take their lithium.
 
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Floaty makes them seem a bit insubstantial. Breathy yes, although definitely not the most salient adjective. To me they can be sensual, throaty, deep, versatile, delicate, heavenly, sinister, so much more than that.
I see what you mean.

To get a bit synesthesical, her voice to me sounds just like honey (and not in a generic "sweet" way, it specifically reminds me of how honey looks/feels)
 
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