Traditionally, solo albums can afford an artist the opportunity to explore previously uncharted sonic or lyrical terrain. In Alison Goldfrapp’s case, however, the electronic duo that bears her surname has mined such a rich, diverse palette over the last two-plus decades—from trip-hop to synth-pop to folk—that a solo venture seems like little more than a chance to make music with people who aren’t Will Gregory.
The Love Invention was birthed during the pandemic, when the singer says she was forced to create music more independently than she had in years. She ultimately tapped Richard X, who co-produced Goldfrapp’s 2010 single “Alive,” and Ghost Culture’s James Greenwood to bring her vision to life, though the album doesn’t stray too far from Goldfrapp’s synth-pop roots.
“Fever (This Is the Real Thing)” is sleek and undulating—and markedly more sophisticated than the Paul Woolford piano-house remix of the song that was released earlier this year. With “In Electric Blue,” Goldfrapp dips her toes into M83-style dream-pop, propelled by a rollicking bassline and shimmering synths that ripple like party streamers at a ’80s prom. Throughout songs like that and the infectious “Love Invention,” Goldfrapp sounds like she’s singing through a box of issues—an effect that’s both curious and curiously mesmerizing.
Lyrically, Goldfrapp occasionally leans too far into pop simplicity. For one, the pseudo-motivational musings that she doles out during the chorus of “NeverStop” (“Never stop love, never stop loving”) feel wan compared to the more probing rhetorical queries of the track’s verses. Likewise, the five-minute “The Beat Divine” gets bogged down in the repetitive and rather pedestrian refrain of “Only love can make you feel alive.”
Later in the album, though, when Goldfrapp gets more experimental—or at least dispenses with conventional pop structures—things begin to feel more immersive. “Subterfuge” and “Gatto Gelato” in particular recapture some of the avant-garde magic of 2003’s Black Cherry. The latter song, which lives up its cheeky title, is a synth bass-driven doodle filled with satisfyingly squelchy electro and post-disco flourishes. It’s in moments such as those, when Goldfrapp embraces the comfort zone of her inner weirdo, that The Love Invention feels truly inventive.
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