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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.goldfrapp.co.uk/ Official website]
* [http://www.goldfrapp.co.uk/ Official website]

* [http://www.oomska.co.uk/?page_id=1108 Review of 'Head First' on oomska]


{{Goldfrapp}}
{{Goldfrapp}}

Revision as of 12:59, 1 April 2010

Untitled

Head First is the fifth studio album by the English electronic duo Goldfrapp, released in the United Kingdom on 22 March 2010 by Mute Records. The album's lead single, "Rocket", was released on the European, U.S. and Canadian iTunes Stores on 24 January 2010.[1][2][3]

Development

In July 2009, Goldfrapp announced that they had begun recording their fifth studio album.[4] A photoshoot for the album took place in November 2009. The duo hoped to have the album recorded by December 2009.[5]

Information

A press release issued ahead of the release describes the duo's fifth album as their "most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010."

As of 22 January 2010 the first single, "Rocket", has been released as a digital download on iTunes in every country except from UK and Ireland and can be found on the duo's MySpace page.[6]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[7]
BBC Music(very positive)[8]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[9]
The Guardian[10]
The Independent[11]
NME(6/10)[12]
The Observer(mixed)[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
The Times[16]

Head First received mostly positive reviews, with most critics noting its heavy influence of 1980s music. Heather Phares of Allmusic stated that the duo "explore the uber-glossy productions, staccato melodies, and dramatic key shifts that were the hallmarks of anthems that some might not want to admit they liked decades later", noting the influence of Giorgio Moroder, ABBA and Xanadu-era Olivia Newton-John.[7] Giving the album a B rating, Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Head First sounds as if they've been commissioned to paint the inside of Olivia Newton-John's mind, circa 1980: all strobe-lit synths, feathery vocals, and goofy synonyms for sex."[9] For BBC Music, Ian Wade raved: "Free of anything in the slightest bit terrible, Head First is amazing stuff."[8] Spin magazine's Lindsey Thomas said that "[o]n Head First, [...] Will Gregory creates a pitch-perfect neon-lit '80s wonderland with Hi-NRG bass lines and plenty of that fat synth sound made famous by Van Halen's 'Jump.'"[17] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that "Head First returns Goldfrapp to commercial waters – this time the glossy, optimistic 1980s pop that provides the playlist backbone of Magic FM", but "there are instances when the songwriting isn't that exciting, when the choruses don't ascend quite as stratospherically as they're supposed to, and you're left listening to what is, in essence, an MOR pop album."[10] Rolling Stone's Will Hermes also gave the album a mixed review, claiming that "[t]his may be the most lovingly detailed synth-pop album since the golden days of Yaz and Kim Carnes. Yet expert execution doesn't always signal a good idea."[14] According to Pete Paphides of The Times, "[t]he best moments on Goldfrapp's album Head First — Believer and the title track — also double as its uncoolest ones."[16] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote that "Head First is a brief trip, but it's saturated with enough hi-NRG motifs and sounds for countless sweaty workouts at Jack LaLanne."[15]

The album also received criticism for following the musical directions of artists that have been influenced by Goldfrapp. Andy Gill of The Independent noted that "Goldfrapp now suddenly effect a complete volte-face on Head First, heading back to the electronic pop of their three previous releases", which is "a curious, circuitous trajectory which gives the impression that Goldfrapp are in the invidious position of playing catch-up to all the Gagas, LaRouxs [sic] and Little Boots upon whom they must surely have been a major influence."[11] Barry Nicolson was emphatic in his review for NME, saying: "Once the source of pop inspiration, now it seems they're content to follow." He further commented that the album "is basically an upbeat electro-pop record with one foot in the '80s, much like roughly 85 per cent of music made in the last two years."[12] Kitty Empire from The Observer agreed, stating: "Having pre-empted the wave of womanly electro, they appear now to be behind rather than ahead of the curve." She also called the album "decent but unsurprising".[13] Pierre Oitmann of Dutch news site Nu.nl concurs that 'Head First' is "a delightfully comprehensive and shamelessly upbeat pop album, with the familiar Goldfrapp signature", awarding it with 9 stars out of 10.[18]

Chart performance and sales

Head First debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number six, on sales of 23,261 - around half of the first-week sales figure of predecessor Seventh Tree. Nevertheless, it earned the duo a third successive UK Top 10 album. Head First also became Goldfrapp's third release to chart on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States, debuting at number forty-four - a career peak - with first-week sales of 10,350.

Track listing

All songs written by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory.

  1. "Rocket" – 3:51
  2. "Believer" – 3:43
  3. "Alive" – 3:28
  4. "Dreaming" – 5:07
  5. "Head First" – 4:30
  6. "Hunt" – 4:34
  7. "Shiny and Warm" – 3:58
  8. "I Wanna Life" – 4:13
  9. "Voicething" – 4:44

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[21] 14
Austrian Albums Chart[21] 33
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[21] 90
Dutch Albums Chart[21] 47
Irish Albums Chart[22] 17
New Zealand Albums Chart[21] 18
Norwegian Albums Chart[21] 19
Swiss Albums Chart[21] 14
UK Albums Chart[23] 6
U.S. Billboard 200 45

Release history

Country Date Label
Germany[24] 19 March 2010 EMI
Italy[25]
United Kingdom[26] 22 March 2010 Mute
Australia[27] EMI
United States[7] 23 March 2010 Mute

References

  1. ^ Dombal, Ryan (1 December 2009). "Goldfrapp Announce New Album". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  2. ^ Amazon.de
  3. ^ U.S. iTunes Store
  4. ^ Goldfrapp, Alison (18 September 2009). "Hello Nowhere Boy x". Goldfrapp.com. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  5. ^ Goldfrapp, Alison (15 November 2009). "Hey Long Time No Speak x". Goldfrapp.com. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  6. ^ Goldfrapp's MySpace
  7. ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "Head First > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ a b Wade, Ian (12 March 2010). "BBC – Music – Review of Goldfrapp – Head First". BBC Music. BBC Online. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ a b Greenblatt, Leah (16 March 2010). "Music Review – Head First (2010) – Goldfrapp". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  10. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (18 March 2010). "Goldfrapp: Head First | CD review | Music | The Guardian". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  11. ^ a b Gill, Andy (19 March 2010). "Album: Goldfrapp, Head First (Mute) – Reviews, Music – The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  12. ^ a b Nicolson, Barry (19 March 2010). "Album Review: Goldfrapp – 'Head First' (Mute)". NME. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  13. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (14 March 2010). "Goldfrapp: Head First | CD of the week | Music | The Observer". The Observer. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  14. ^ a b Hermes, Will (23 March 2010). "Goldfrapp: Head First : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  15. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (10 March 2010). "Goldfrapp: Head First | Music Review | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  16. ^ a b Paphides, Pete (12 March 2010). "Goldfrapp: Head First review | CD reviews | Music – Times Online". The Times. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  17. ^ Thomas, Lindsey (20 March 2010). "Goldfrapp, 'Headfirst' (Mute) | Spin Magazine Online". Spin. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  18. ^ Oitmann, Pierre (21 March 2010). "Head First". Nu.nl. nu.nl. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  19. ^ "melophobia discography page". Melophobia. Retrieved 10 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ "Black Melody Productions – Goldfrapp – Alive (From The Head First LP)". Black Melody. Retrieved 22 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  21. ^ a b c d e f g "ultratop.be – Goldfrapp – Head First". Ultratop. Retrieved 27 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  22. ^ "Irish Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 25 March 2010". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved 26 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ "Chart Stats – Goldfrapp – Head First". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Retrieved 31 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  24. ^ "GOLDFRAPP // Head First +++ EMI". EMI Music Germany (in German). Retrieved 22 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  25. ^ "Goldfrapp – Head First – IBS". Internet Bookshop Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 22 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  26. ^ "Mute.com: Goldfrapp – Head First". Mute Records. Retrieved 22 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ "Goldfrapp : Discography : Head First". EMI Music Australia. Getmusic.com.au. Retrieved 22 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
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