Goldfrapp – Tales of Us

Whether it stomps on your heart or mops your fevered brow will depend on where it finds you at the time, but Tales of Us is capable of both, so beware. If 2010's Head First was fun but slight, with many still in thrall to the folk re-imaginings of its predecessor Seventh Tree, here's proof that Goldfrapp know what's best for us and for them.

Delicate half-narratives play out against a balmy backdrop of strings, piano and barely-there percussion. Impeccably arranged and produced, Alison's dusky whisper sits an inch from your ear. Drew is stately but overpowering. Jo, like much here, carries weight beyond its fragility. Tales of Us is beautifully, classically spartan. And it feels like a genuine second coming. These dark devotionals, suffused with desire and regret, and built on a curious but ever-distinct fusing of traditional elements, confirms that, for Goldfrapp, as ever, love is the lore.