Supernature (Goldfrapp album)
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Supernature is the third
album by
British electronic–
dance duo
Goldfrapp. It was released by
Mute Records on
August 19 2005 in Ireland and on
August 22 2005 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by lead singer
Alison Goldfrapp and synthesizer
Will Gregory. Upon its debut,
critical reception was generally mixed; while many complimented the album's blend of
pop and electronic, others described it as uninspired and lacking quality.
Supernature became the duo's most commercially-successful release in the UK, where it was certified
platinum. In North America, the album was released on
March 7 2006; however, it failed to make much of an impact on the mainstream charts.
Originally Goldfrapp had never intended on composing dance music, but the group found success in the North American nightclubs with the singles promoted from Black Cherry (2003). This element permeates much of Superature, along with the use of the electric guitar, which was initially introduced into Goldfrapp's music with the lead single "Ooh La La".
Making of the record
Supernature expands upon the pop and electronica compositions that had arranged Goldfrapp's previous record
Black Cherry and the singles "
Strict Machine" (2003) and "
Twist" (2003). However, unlike the duo's previous efforts,
Supernature concentrates more on subtle
hooks rather than large
choruses and
verses. Lead singer Alison Goldfrapp referred to the process of the album's creation as "an electronic, glam cross between
Berlin,
New York and north-east
Somerset".
[Chart Singles.net. [34 Chart Roundup"]. August 30 2005. Retrieved February 18 2006.] In order to gain inspiration for writing
Supernature, Goldfrapp listened to various
disco artists such as
Donna Summer and
New Order.
Goldfrapp and Gregory recorded Supernature in late 2004 in the countryside of Bath, England, as they had with Black Cherry. The group rented a small house in the countryside and spent several months writing lyrics and music throughout the daytime hours. Because of the location that was selected, they were able to complete their work with little distratction, which Goldfrapp referred to as "very basic".[Rolling Stone. ["Goldfrapp Unleash Supernature"]. March 7 2006. Retrieved March 25 2006.] When it comes to lyrics, the duo claim to have certain boundaries,[Kory, Grow. College Music Journal. ["British electro-duo Goldfrapp evens out the odds with their latest, Supernature"]. Retrieved March 25 2006.] and Alison Goldfrapp has referred to their sessions as a "democratic affair".[ She explained that the lyrics to "Number 1" were written about how meaningful something may be to one, but not necessarily remain.]
In an interview with College Music Journal, Goldfrapp explained that they had never intended to create dance music.[ However, the singles released from Black Cherry experienced success across nightclubs in North America][Billboard magazine. [Information on Goldfrapp's U.S. dance-chart positions]. Retrieved March 27 2006.] and as a result, they decided to write a more dance-oriented album. Although this made the duo nervous, "Ooh La La" became the first song performed by the group to feature the presence of the electric guitar[Gallant, Michael. Keyboard Magazine. ["Retro Disco Ooh La La"]. Retrieved March 25 2006.] and includes a sample from Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" (1970). Prior to its composition, the duo had avoided the use of a guitar because of the recognizable rhythm it is able to add to a song.[ Four-on-the-floor bass drums are also present on several of the tracks, and the piano ballad "Let It Take You" features evening-effects composed on the synthesizer.][Supernature. North American DVD — "Little bits of Goldfrapp". Information about the recording of "Supernature". Accessed March 27 2006.] "You Never Know" begins with Alison Goldfrapp executing a synthesized voice which is supported over both pads and synthesizers. It is only for a moment that she is neutral with the electronics in the background. Goldfrapp and Gregory have cited "Satin Chic" as their favourite song on Supernature.
Alison Goldfrapp cited the Roland String synth as one of her favourite keyboards. "Number 1" features an old synth and a bass arrangement that the group began using frequently following the recording of the song. Another Roland String model, the SH-09, is also one of Goldfrapp's favourite keyboards; she played the duo's song "Train" (2003) on it and enjoys the sounds that it exudes. She was also impressed with a Russian synth, primarily on the basis of it being written in the same language.
Critical response
Upon release, the album received different responses from international music-critics. In a review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand said that "although Supernature lacks the imagination of Felt Mountain and the saucy brilliance of Black Cherry, it doesn't pander to the pop crowd".[Begrand, Adrien. PopMatters. [Goldfrapp – Supernature]. September 19 2005. Retrieved March 24 2006.] Rolling Stone referred to the album as "toxic and delicious" and added "Supernature will make you do bad things — and like it".[Gitlin, Lauren. Rolling Stone. [Goldfrapp, Supernature (U.S. edition)]. March 6 2006. Retrieved March 24 2006.] However, Pitchfork Media reviewer Nitsuh Abebe was less impressed with the album and wrote that the songs "keep feeling like exercises: too thick and melodic to work like dance music, but with melodies that refuse to stick as satisfyingly as pop."[Abebe, Nitsuh. Pitchfork Media. [Supernature by Goldfrapp]. September 1 2005. Retrieved March 24 2006.] Michael Hubbard of MusicOMH.com wrote a review for every song on Supernature, and although he felt that it was a "curious, rather than classic, record", he criticized it for "fading out early on, with poor, low quality songs at the end which leave the listener feeling cheated".[Hubbard, Michael. MusicOMH.com. [Goldfrapp – Supernature (Mute)]. August 22 2005. Retrieved March 24 2006.] All Music Guide reviewer Heather Phares called Supernature "Goldfrapp's most accessible album" and cited "Ooh La La" as the best song.[Phares, Heather. All Music Guide. [Supernature (Goldfrapp)]. March 7 2006. Retrieved March 26 2006.]
In a review for Canadian-based Jam Canoe, Andrew Carver praised the different sounds on Supernature which range from "a blend of future noise" to "crushed velvet corruption", and described it as "one sharp recording".[Carver, Andrew. Jam Canoe. [CD review: Goldfrapp: Supernature]. Retrieved March 27 2006.] Jessica Suarez of Spin magazine provided comparison between "Ooh La La" and Black Cherry's "Strict Machine"; she called it Goldfrapp's biggest weakness and "so simplistic that [its] minimalist repetition occasionally teeters over into redundancy". She praised "Ride a White Horse" and "Fly Me Away" for Alison Goldfrapp's "velvet-soft vocals, which stay that way even when heavily processed".[Suarez, Jessica. Spin magazine. [Goldfrapp, Supernature]. Retrieved March 27 2005.] However, less favourable reception came from Stylus magazine reviewer Edward Oculicz, who stated "Supernature is not a great album", and criticized several of the tracks for being too "dull".[Oculicz, Edward. Stylus magazine. [Goldfrapp; Supernature]. Retrieved March 27 2006.]
Singles
"Ooh La La", the lead single from the album, became Goldfrapp's most successful release, where it reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. It was also promoted in U.S. dance clubs, and peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Dance Chart. The second single "Number 1" is based around a synth and bass arrangement, which also reached the top-ten in the UK and number one on the U.S. Dance Chart. It also reached number seven in Canada. "Ride a White Horse" became the third release and continued the album's string of top-twenty singles. Released as the fourth single in May 2006, "Fly Me Away" debuted at number twenty-six on the UK Singles Chart, remaining in the top seventy-five for two weeks.
The album was released in two versions: a single disc version, which used Opendisc technology to offer extras via a website, and a double disc version which included the album in surround sound on both discs. The first disc is a hybrid SACD with 5.1 multichannel SACD audio, stereo SACD audio and stereo CD audio. The second disc, a DVD, contains the multichannel version of the album in DTS 96/24 as well as a documentary.
Chart performance
Supernature debuted at number two on the UK albums chart, where it sold 53,000 copies in its first week. Since its release it has achieved platinum certification in the UK, where after fourteen weeks, it descended from the top-seventy-five. It has since recharted for a total of thirty-one non-consecutive weeks. In Australia the album became Goldfrapp's first release to chart at number twenty-three, although it received limited promotion. The album became the duo's first to be released in Canada, where it entered at number eighty-eight and the United States, where it debuted at number one-hundred thirty-eight. It sold 1,000 copies in its first week of release in Canada and 7,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It has since doubled its figure in U.S. sales.
Charts
The cover artwork of
Supernature sold across North America and Japan.
| Chart (2005)
| Peak
position
|
| UK Albums Chart
| 2
|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart
| 23
|
| Swiss Albums Chart
| 29
|
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart
| 35
|
| Chart (2006)
| Peak
position
|
| U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart
| 3
|
| U.S. Billboard Electronic Albums Chart
| 5
|
| Canadian Albums Chart
| 88
|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart
| 138
|
Chart trajectories
| UK albums chart trajectory
|
| Week
| 01
| 02
| 03
| 04
| 05
| 06
| 07
| 08
| 09
| 10
| 11
| 12
| 13
| 14
| 15
| 16
| 17
| 18
| 19
| 20
| 21
| 22
| 23
| 24
| 25
| 26
| 27
| 28
| 29
| 30
| 31
| 32
| 33
| 34
|
| Chart position
| 2
| 6
| 15
| 24
| 39
| 51
| 49
| 43
| 37
| 28
| 30
| 42
| 57
| 68
| —
| 74
| 16
| 15
| 26
| 35
| 37
| 37
| 33
| 36
| 33
| 28
| 35
| 46
| 56
| 60
| 73
| —
| —
| 57
|
| U.S. albums chart trajectory
|
| Week
| 01
| 02
| 03
|
| Chart position
| 138
| 165
| 201
|
Track listing
All tracks written and composed by Goldfrapp and Gregory.
- "Ooh La La" – 3:23
- "Lovely 2 C U" – 3:25
- "Ride a White Horse" – 4:42
- "You Never Know" – 3:27
- "Let It Take You" – 4:30
- "Fly Me Away" – 4:25
- "Slide In" – 4:17
- "Koko" – 3:23
- "Satin Chic" – 3:28
- "Time Out from the World" – 4:47
- "Number 1" – 3:25
Bonus tracks and footage
All bonus tracks and footage appear on the Japanese and North American editon of Supernature.
- "Beautiful" – 4:51
- Little bits of Goldfrapp: documentary
- Jakko and the poet in Frappworld
- Music videos
- Photo gallery of Goldfrapp
Release details
- All editions released by Mute/Virgin Records unless otherwise stated.
| Release format
| Country
| Cat. No.
| Release date
|
| Regular album
| UK/Europe/Taiwan
| CDStumm250
| August 22, 2005
|
| U.S. regular album
| U.S.
| 9296-2
| March 2006
|
| Deluxe edition
| UK/Europe
| LCDStumm250
| August 22, 2005
|
| Limited edition deluxe album
| UK/Europe
| LCDStumm250
| August 22, 2005
|
| U.S. limited edition deluxe album
| U.S.
| 9312-2
| March 2006
|
| Vinyl album
| UK
| Stumm250
| August 2005
|
| Japanese edition
| Japan
| TOCP-66432
| August 2005
|
| Canadian edition
| Canada
| 094635886023
| March 7, 2006
|
| Hong Kong gold edition (unofficial)1
| Hong Kong
| DSD-1969
| August 2005
|
| Chinese deluxe edition (unofficial)2
| China
| DSD 0992
| August 2005
|
- 1 released as a deluxe CD set in Hong Kong by Sony Records. This release is unofficial and contains songs from Felt Mountain and Black Cherry.
- 2 released as a deluxe CD set in China by Universal Records. This release is unofficial and contains songs from Felt Mountain and Black Cherry.
Notes
References
External links
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