Felt Mountain

Reminds me of Portishead in a big way, just a little quieter. Some really cool blends of electronic and orchestral sounds. The theremin¹ makes the strings sound otherworldly and the strings make the theremin sound almost organic and natural. I liked this album but I get the feeling that they have stuff I would like more. Worth finding out, and worth a relisten in the future. 7/10 1. I later learned that the theremin is actually her voice modulated to sound like a theremin. That's really cool.

I tried listening to this unknown group but I got bored. Poor album for me.

Again..we need a 10 star rating system! This was probably a 7/10 but i'm feeling very generous today. I was grabbed from the off by 'Lovely Head' one of those songs which i knew but had no idea what it was! ("Clive...it's 3 o clock in the morning, where have you been??"...if you know, you know). The rest of the album was similar in style but nothing else quite as amazing. Pilots and Utopia were the other stand outs but the whole album had a lovely, engaging theme to it. I'm certainly going to hear it again and investigate what else they've got!

Ihan hieno. Fiilis vaihteli Bond tunnarista happoisempaan. Pitää kuunnella uudestaan.

I enjoyed this. Worth replaying.

She really put her whole pussy into that theramin

Just hated it

I guess most of it is music

I really enjoyed the first track but the rest of it seemed well produced but unremarkable.

At its best, this is B+ Portishead, which makes it an A-, creeping up on an A. You could've told me that "Utopia" was a non-album Portishead B-side and I wouldn't have blinked. It's creepy, looming, and inexplicably sexy. Great stuff. Throughout, I was consistently impressed while not being bowled over. I'll probably turn to Gibbons and Co. before these folks, but if you like your sad-lady triphop, this is definitely worth a spin.

There something about her voice I really enjoy.

I struggled with this one. I did not find it aesthetically compelling, and I also couldn’t gather its historical significance, from listening or some quick research.

Was initially gonna round down to 3 stars on this one, but I listened to it a second time on my drive home from work while it was dark and rainy and it definitely hit harder. Favorite track: Utopia 3.5/5

They can't all be zingers...

Hyllade i England men jag förstår inte riktigt. Tycker mest dom låter som en blandning mellan ett pisstråkigt Portishead och ett Air utan finess och värme. Det tuffar på hjälpligt men jag tycker dom omhuldar sin downtempo lite väl okritiskt i England. För mig blir det aldrig mer än okej

Förstaspåret känns lovande med en mix av modern pop och 30-/40-tal. Även Pilots låter rätt bra i samma anda. Men i övrigt blir det rätt blekt till slut.

Ett album som växer vid en andra lyssning. En del småfina låtar utan att sticka ut något nämnvärt. Extra plus till Utopia.

Trip-hop tåget hade lämnat stationen för länge sedan när Goldfrapp köpte biljett. Till skillnad från Portishead som var både lokförare och konduktör så står Goldfrapp kvar än idag och väntar. Ja, det här albumet låter som väntan på det tåg som redan gått.

This was really great, made me wish i could whistle.

Wow. This is not something I ever would have picked up or sought out on my own. Very out of my wheelhouse and maybe not something I’d reach for again but I enjoyed how cinematic the sound was. I felt like I was watching that one episode of Rick and Morty. It’s albums like this that make me really love this experience.

The other end of the Goldfrapp spectrum to the last album of theirs but still not the one I wanted! plenty of weird sounds and some almost trip hop/James Bond-esque songs in there, but I much prefer Goldfrapp in fun electronic mode

This one had a couple of really high peaks, surrounded by valleys. I liked the spy vibe.

High 3 but a little odd for me

Having listened to this before, liking it, but only really coming out of it with Deer Stop on my playlists, it's been really fun to come back and listen again. And it's not disappointing. Kinda feels like a mix between the smoky spy film stuff Portishead has going on, mixed with a little bit of Björk (Especially songs like Human). And that's a mix that I am perfectly fine with. The album does jump back and forth between a few sounds while holding onto the spy film vibes throughout (Got a weird carnival thing going on in Oompah Radar). But overall the whole album hits, and it hits hard (Despite generally being a chill record). Still, Deer Stop is my favorite song from it (Even if it does use elk vocalizations instead of deer vocalizations. 2/10 would not listen again). But, went in thinking this would be closer to a four, came out giving it full marks. Great stuff. Also, shoutout to the album art. Also great shit.

Serene and sexy (with a sprinkle of clown music), i liked that! Standouts are Paper Bag, Human, Pilots and Utopia.

Some of this is good. Some of it is more interesting than good.

Tbh feel this album was quite lucky to make it, a lot of it was just not that interesting.

sounds like a bjork a bit, definitely weird but not in a way i dislike

How can something be so eerie and unsettling, yet dreamy and beautiful at the same time?! In that way, it kind of reminds me of Mercury Rev - Deserter’s Songs

Downtempo Trip Hop is always welcomed on this list. I will take a Portishead album any day, but I found myself quite liking this and feel that it is a unique offering in it's respective landscape. Great soundtrack for a 5:30 AM dog walk as the leaves fell from the trees around me.

The songs should be in a James Bond movie and I honestly don't know if that's good or bad.

3/5. Definitely one of the more unique listening experiences on here. This album is very minimalist and downtempo with occasional light touches of horn and strings, almost feels like it should be soundtracking something. Like with the delicate orchestration on “Horse Tears” or the almost circus-like horns on “Oompah Radar.” Not every song worked in my opinion, but it was still an interesting listen that I appreciated quite a bit.

Most of the songs feature creative and sophisticated melodies, along with a versatile and sometimes sultry singing style. Still, I would have liked to have heard an upbeat number as a sort of break from the seriousness of the tracks.

fine

Didn’t listen.

Loved and discovered a new Kanye interpolation source

This isn’t my type of music unfortunately. I don’t like these genres as of recent, but I will remain hopeful!

Kind of dull, sadly. Still love the title track, but the rest is background music at best

Simultaneously relaxing and unnerving. Very pretty mixing and vocals. A lot of the instrumentals make me think of if Gorillaz were to score a Laika movie. Utopia is probably my favorite. Also get Mag bay vibes. Good listen with a lot of interesting textures and sounds. Nice and quick and kept me engaged.

I can definitely see why this is labeled trip hop but also so many fun instrumentals that I haven't heard much in Portishead or Massive Attack or whatever else Highlights: "Lovely Head", "Pilots", "Horse Tears"

Better than most of the dance/electronic adjacent stuff on this list. Has actual songs, actual structure.

2/5

Found this boring after a few songs. I sort of get the appeal but not for me.

It was fine. But it was a little redundant and it became monotonous.

wasn’t a big fan

Kinda haunting. Not bad. Maybe bit slow to my taste. The music itself is pretty interesting but the vocals dont get me too much. Gives me the James Bond vibes. Weirdly classy. Hard to imagine this was made in the 2000's. I would have guessed like ib the 80's. Really atmospheric. Human and Felt Mountains top tracks atm.

Boring and confusing. Very little redeeming qualities, other than it could be background music that wouldn't distract the task I was doing.

Sounds like felt, feels like felt. Lovely, relaxed music.

7/10… art pop / downtempo / *2000

Once described as a "strange and beautiful mix of the romantic, eerie, and world-weary". I describe it as utterly boring. Some songs have a cabaret feel that reminds me of movies about WWII.

I probably wasn't in the right head space to be listening to this today, and that of course highlights one issue with a project such as this. I still enjoyed it for the most part, but something just felt missing.

Very cool and different, fun one to find from the list, will add to the collection for relisten - dark and moody with a sensuous and dangerous vibe

Weird, eerie, kinda dug it.

Weird scale: Might be the strangest album I've ever listened to but I kinda dug it. Not in a "oh you know what a good listen on this commute would be" way but in a stormy Halloween night with a book way.

Great!

As noted, the previous album -Seventh Tree- on this list was medicinal. This album didn’t quite have that same effect on me. It was beautiful but (again, maybe my mood) a little too nebulous. The song Utopia was perfectly in the pocket and my favorite track on the album. The song Deer Stop reminded me of those late Progressive Era jazz singers like Vaughn De Leah, except for with an evolving electronica. Lovely Heads another example, though the singing through the voice box was weird, and made it somewhere between Kill Bill Spaghetti western and Dead Can Dance. I haven’t listened to all the Goldfrapp albums but I don’t know if this one was needed on the list.

Random thoughts: * Interesting recording and sound. I think she nailed the sound she was going for. * It sounds retro and future at the same time. * It has a vibe that requires just the right mood for listening. I'll need to find that again when I am at the right mood and time. * Overall, it was interesting and a decent inclusion. However, again on 1001, there is no way we need two Goldfrapp albums on this listen. One will do.

Strange but I did not hate it

That sure was a strange and wild ride. Not really my vibe except for a few jazzier parts but even then they mixed in other instruments/sounds that I really disliked. I have written on some previous albums on this list that I hate random sounds that I feel don't fit in with the song or extra stuff that just add on top of already good things and ruin them by being to much. This album is a great example of that. Why add strange alien noises when the song works great without them just because you sing about aliens? I just don't get this album I guess. The thing that I dislike the most is that the album without the random additions that is there, right underneath, that sounds so good at times.

While it is not among my favorite Goldfrapp albums (that would be HEAD FIRST), this one was an interesting mix of James Bond 60s electro cabaret bombast, a bit of bossa nova (as on the track "Pilots"), Wiemar era polka, and general all around synth glory. I've always been a fan of Will Gregory's contributions to Tears for Fears "The Working Hour" and "I Believe", and he brings his sophisticated and nuanced chord progression ideas to this album. The mixing was sublime. songs breathe and swell organically. The edges of loops are rarely detected.

This is weird and warped and I really liked it.

Imagine not liking this. Like a James Bond soundtrack but the film is set in space and it's a bit spooky.

No.

This one bored me to tears.

Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?: ✔️

I’d heard of Goldfrapp name before but never listened to them. What a pleasant surprise.

mostly just kinda weird in a good way tho

When Alison is singing this album rips so hard, when it’s weird instrumentals it’s a little weaker but still strong. The only issue i really had was with Oompah, felt like a long idea that didn’t really accomplish what it was aiming for. Thoroughly enjoyed the rest of this thing though, so many strange sounds that all worked well and so many video game synths.

Nice and mellow

Really nice chilled out album

I like this album but need to be in the right mood.

435/1089 opening track was so atmospheric i liked the Bond vibes but i’m not a massive fan of the whistling/other high-pitched sounds, the mixing on it is so sharp and unpleasant to me. and the next track opened with something similar i feel kinda sad bc i went expecting to like this one and it’s a type of music i usually would quite like but it’s just really not clicking atm okay human has some life and intrigue to it Oompa Radar is SO Runescape Varrock core omg the mixing is just so shrill and crunchy faves: Human, Oompa Radar 60/100

Probably the best word I can use is "elegant." An enjoyable listen that I think I will explore further.

A very enjoyable set of songs that would fit like a glove in a James Bond soundtrack. Slightly better than Seventh Tree, in my opinion. It almost put me to sleep at times with its slow and dreamy vibes, but I did listen to it after a long shift, so I'll blame myself for that one. Favourite track: Human

It's a different vibe that I'm not sure I would be in very often, but it's not bad. Overall enjoyment, but not a new favorite.

AHS Freak Show soundtrack

It's got a retro jazz lounge type sound that mixes with the more modern sound/production in an interesting way. I probably would have liked it more when I was college, I was more into this type of thing then.

Very enjoyable. I had never heard their early stuff, so I didn't realize it was less upbeat/dance focused than the stuff I'm familiar with. Reminds me a lot of Air, which is a good thing.

I like Goldfrapp but when it’s more electronic.

Have you ever read Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse? Because this is the music that is likely playing when you enter the Magical Circus.

What a breath of fresh air! This is lovely and at album #33 generated, it is my first 5 star album. Utopia instantly added to my playlist, several others likely to be added after a few more listens, because I am definitely listening again.

Alternates between potential James Bond music and Circus Music with ease (not a compliment) Best Song: Utopia 5/10 Stars: 3

I was forewarned that opening track whistled so it was skipped. No need for it!. I think I should have skipped second track as well. What a miserable voice. All the way through such a miserable whiney voice. Im sure it would be a nice voice if it sang rather than whined and whispered. Bloody annoying. Helped it along a bit. Most miserable oompah Ive ever heard. Overall it was pretty shit. Those breathy vocals, I honestly thought she was having an asthma attack. Whatever they were trying to achieve , they failed unless the aim was to have a really irritating album.

Cool. Like alternative James Bond. On the slow side for my tastes but the instruments were smooth and stylish; not often you hear a synth imitating a theremin in pop music.

Beautiful voice. Like the slightly strange cinematic sound around it. Really nice atmosphere.

Great discovery ! Loved the change of pace from the ultra predictive stuff this list has. Pretty limp album though but that's part of the point. Also pretty strong for a debut album

I found myself irritated by tge instrumentation and the vocals. Otherwise, this was fine.

This was a good album! Ambient, cool production, dark, and funky. Reminds me of Portishead. Rating: 7/10 Favorite Song: Human

capaz era para 7/10

Whatever. Not for me

Weird and very theatrical

Almost some decent songs

This is right up my alley - great vocals, downbeat electronica, rich orchestration (or at least rich synthesis). Very James Bond soundtrack feel.

Amazing Vibes and very unique.

Oompah Radar is a bit much for me. Fave Tracks: Human, Deer Stop 3.3/5

Like a 1940s lounge singer. Not at all what I expected but very very good

i loved that one goldfrapp song on the sherlock soundtrack when i was 14 so it makes sense that i liked this too

4/10 Deeply unlikable. Bond-esque, which says it all really. So dull at times it feels like it could collapse on itself and form a deep rift in space-time that would encompass a fundamental nothingness.

It took a couple listens for this to click with me. The strings are really shimmery and her voice is really interesting. Utopia is a gorgeous song. The humming synths and background vocals just give it such a shine. Favorites were Human, Pilot, and Utopia.

Last track could have been a great Bond theme.