Alison Goldfrapp

The Love Invention – BMG

After 20+ years recording with collaborator Will Gregory as Goldfrapp, Alison Goldfrapp goes solo for the first time and the results are catchy, disco ready jams. Not so much a departure from her previous work, but a cool collection of club-infused sublime synth and electronica. She has help on this record from producers Richard X, Paul Woolford, and James Greenwood, all who have worked with some of the most urgent electronic acts of the last quarter century.

Fans of her later work will enjoy the bouncy beats and sweaty rhymes, and those who enjoyed Goldfrapp’s earlier, more trip-hoppy work will find solace in a few gems here as well. Mostly this is an album that will drive you straight to the dancefloor – and that is awesome.

There are some serious grooves in tracks 1, 6, and 3 (“NeverStop,” “Fever,” and “Digging Deeper Now.”) – ready made for a DJ stint in a small, steamy club. Track 9, “Gatto Gelato,” is a fun track that in sound reminds me of Bjork’s “Army of Me.” Alison Goldfrapp heads back to Felt Mountain (2000) era dream pop in tracks 8 and 11 – ‘Subterfuge” and “SLoFlo”), with her ethereal voice haunting on top of mild mannered and understated synth tracks. The title track, “Love Invention,” (track 2) is a pulsating propelling beat that could have come out any time the last 30 years. It’s a lovely dance spinner that goes across the generations.

My favorites: 9**, 6**, 8**, 2**, 3**, 1**, and 11**. Get ready to dance your socks off!

– (h)earwitness