As releases go, its certainly well timed. Here in the UK Spring is unwinding, the clutch of winter’s fist slowly relaxing as daffodils burst out of the ground and the trees start to blossom. Seventh Tree is full of rich, luxurious production, smooth and full of body, positively bursting with the sound of meadows and the light casting shadows across the fields. It is hard to listen to without evoking a Timotei advert, Alison Goldfrapp’s hair shining with radiance, the sun shining against her dress on a cool Spring morning. Gone are the glam beats, the wolf-head, the hand-bra on the cover of Supernature. Instead, all this is replaced with a different kind of ambience, a more pastoral affair, full of warmth and diversity.Reinvention though is a good thing, right? Bowie did it all the time, Coldplay are threatening us with it for album number 4, even Craig David’s talking about the search for the new sound. In this instance, Goldfrapp have breathed new life into their music. They haven’t just taken a bunch of demos and sprinkled acoustic guitars on top; it all goes much deeper than that. It is to their credit that it is hard to imagine these songs sounding any other way, how right this album feels, despite its distance from modern culture. Opening track ‘Clowns’ is an excellent point of reference, gentle guitar guiding us by the hand, the closest we’ll ever get to knowing how Nick Drake would sound if he were Nicola Drake. Even better is 'Little Bird', a slumbering piece of music, as comforting as falling asleep on the sofa with Bagpuss on the telly, until it bursts into psychedelic glee towards its conclusion. Â Best of all though is ‘Eat Yourself’. It sounds like it was recorded in black and white, old fashioned and crackly but with an upfront, seductive vocal. It’s an outstanding song, strong, natural bass pattering over the chunk of wood bricks and the subtle swell of strings, beautiful and majestic. Amid all this, single ‘A&E’ is somewhat of a let down, sounding a bit too much like ‘Dawson’s Creek’ background music. ‘Cologne Cerrone Houdini’ falls into a similar category, but the only really duff track is ‘Road to Somewhere’, a bit too close to folky-lady-Erasure for my liking. Songs like ‘Caravan Love’ though more than make up for this, coupled with album closer ‘Monster Love’, a fine track that sums up the feel of this release. Gentle, calming, tender and affectionate, this is a sumptuous piece of work miles away from the stomp of their previous album and all the better for it. 73%Links Goldfrapp [official site] [myspace] [buy it]