As they reach their fifth album it's still not clear whether Goldfrapp are a glorious pop phenomenon or a couple of chancers. It might be time to give the pair the benefit of the doubt, for Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory have never been so on top of their game. Head First comprises nine brisk tracks and clocks in at under 40 minutes, so there's hardly a wasted second. There's Rocket's witty guide to how to end a relationship (“I've gotta rocket/You're going on it/You're never coming back”), I Wanna Life, which quotes Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, and the frankly implausible notion of Goldfrapp finding herself too tubby for her jeans on Alive. All this mischievous fun is set against Gregory's keyboards, which take in stentorian, filmic splendour on Voicething and manage to out-cheese Goldfrapp's lyrics on Shiny and Warm. A trim delight.
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