CD of the Week

Always an interesting proposition, the duo of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory produce state-of-the-art electronic music for people who don't like electronic music. On previous outings - the multi-award-nominated albums Felt Mountain and Black Cherry - they carved out a space for themselves on the left side of the mainstream - popular enough to be used on mobile phone ad campaigns, but still undiscovered enough that no one knew the name of the band being used. The alluring wispiness of their previous output has been replaced here with an infectious Glam Stomp sound. Supernature sounds like Polly Harvey fronting Depeche Mode, only better. It's all Alison Goldfrapp's album: she has reined in her "a bit bonkers" frontwoman persona to really get a grip on these tracks. The opener (and first single), Ooh La La, lays out her stall dramatically as she stridently nails down a memorable vocal over a contagiously catchy rhythm. A lot of Marc Bolan albums have been rifled through to perfect the sound here, although the "I Love The '70s" feel is leavened by some krautrock/early Human League flourishes. On Lovely 2 C U they combine girl band pop with judicious amounts of sleaze, while on Satin Chic they make Madonna sound as irrelevant as The Spice Girls. Lyrically, Alison Goldfrapp has taken her finger off the self-censor button, while musically they've hit a new high. And bonus points are awarded for a song that is a beautiful imitation of Prefab Sprout's classic When Love Breaks Down. There was a lot of talk last year about Annie's Anniemal record propelling her to the top of the electro-pop charts. Sorry, Annie, but you've just dropped a few places - there's a new electro-poptastic sound in town.