Blood Red Mornings

Goldfrapp “Alvar”

Goldfrapp have gone back and forth between sleek electro glam pop and quiet, sad, folky music for over a decade now. The pendulum has swung back to the dark, slow side of things on Tales of Us, but the tone is different – whereas 7th Tree felt airy and pastoral, this record is almost relentlessly dark and portentous. There’s a cinematic quality to the sound, which makes sense since much of it was intended to be paired with films by Alison’s partner Lisa Gunning. But regardless, it’s hard to listen to a song like “Alvar” without feeling like you’re somewhere in the middle of a bleak, terrifying movie. It’s tense without feeling claustrophobic, but the wide open negative space and general absence of percussion makes the music feel creepy in different ways. You know that cliche, “it’s quiet…almost too quiet?” It’s like that.

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